If you are local to Watchet or visiting West Somerset, UK over the May Day Bank Holiday Weekend, you are invited to the Free Watchet East Quay May Day Celebrations. There’s lots of community entertainment. There will be craft and family friendly activities, Maypole dancing, a traditional May Day blessing, seasonal food and drink and, to round up a perfect day from 3.15pm, a Free May Day Weekend Ceilidh with local Barnbuskers Barn Dance Band.
If you’ve never done country dancing then fear not! It’s very easy and has been thrilling people of all ages and generations for hundreds of years. It’s truly England’s traditional dance form and matches perfectly with Watchet’s May Day traditions.
How come it’s so easy? Well there is a special expert dance caller who explains how to do the dance before the music starts with something called a walk through. The dance caller will then continue calling the next steps when the music starts until everyone has got the hang of the dance. At East Quay Watchet, the caller will be Bridget heard below walking through the dance steps for a Circassian Circle Dance at a free open air ceilidh in Vivary Park Taunton in 2025. (By the way, Barnbuskers are doing another free open air ceilidh at Vivary Park in 2026).
The dance being walked through is a circle dance where everyone dances around a circle. A popular alternative is where the dance caller arranges the dancers into sets of two lines opposite each other. The dancers will then step forward to the count of 4 steps and then step back to the count of four steps. Then there might be a do-si-do. This is a very easy move with the dancers stepping forward for four steps, passing by the dancers opposite by the right shoulder and then stepping back to their original position.
Another Country Dance figure that is popular is swinging. There are lots of ways of swinging your partner and it can be vigorous or more gentle, depending on how your partner likes it. Here below is a cross hands swing.
And here is a more close friendly swinging your partner.
There are things called right hand stars, circling to the left and right and all sorts of other fun movements. The atmosphere is friendly and there are often whoops and lots of laughter. If you haven’t ever tried Country Dancing then you’re missing a great experience whether you are watching and enjoying the music or participating in the dancing.
And the great thing is that anyone can do it. Walk, skip or gallop, it’s up to you and your partner. If you haven’t got a partner, step onto the floor and the dance caller can usually find you one. Lots of people do that! It’s quite normal.
Here’s some more Country Dancing to the tune Belle of the Ball tune played by Barnbuskers Ceilidh Barn Dance Band.
Open air ceilidhs and barn dances are such fun! They really bring a community together which is what May Day Weekend Celebrations are all about.
So, we hope we have convinced you to turn up on May Day Bank Holiday May 4th 2026 to join in the fun at Watchet’s Free East Quay May Weekend Celebrations and we look forward to seeing you there.
(Afterthought)
If all this talk of Country Dancing has piqued your interest, Barnbuskers band leader and dance caller Judy also has local Ceilidh Classes in Watchet and Minehead on Wednesdays and Thursdays where you can spend an hour Country Dancing. Judy does the walk through before each dance, in the true traditional way, and then continues calling the steps after the recorded Barnbuskers music starts, for as long as needed. Come once, come twice, there’s no obligation to continue but once people get hooked, they tend to keep coming and joining in. It’s great gentle exercise and a nice community meeting regularly. Whether you are local to West Somerset or visiting on holiday, all are welcome!
See you soon!
Barnbuskers 