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West of England in pictures: Forwards Festival and Blood Moon

Festivals, tributes and awards in photographs from across the West this week.

· 855 words

This week in the West, music lovers danced in the rain at Forwards Festival and stargazers marvelled at the magical Blood Moon during the partial lunar eclipse.

Some stunning aerial shots also showed how parched the landscape remains despite the showers.

Here is our round-up of photographs from across the West this week.

Dancing in the rain: Music lovers bid farewell to summer at Forwards Festival in Bristol.

For the first time in the music event's history, every stage was powered by renewable energy .

Royals: About 23,000 people turned up to watch Forwards Presents: Lorde on the Clifton Downs on Friday. The main festival concludes on Sunday.

Cup clash: Bristol Rovers took on Chelsea's youngsters – now known as Cobham Next Gen - in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night. The match finished 2-2 but the London club won the following penalty shoot-out.

Blood moon: A partial lunar eclipse gave the moon an eerie reddish glow on Friday. BBC Weather Watcher Lybby captured this photograph from Yatton.

Celebrating independence: Monday was Ukraine's 35th independence day, marking the date the country formally broke away from the Soviet Union on 24 August 1991. At City Hall in Bristol, there was an event featuring traditional dancers and Ukrainian food.

To the seaside: North Somerset Council is trialing specialist wheelchair-accessible beach matting at Weston-super-Mare to help people with disabilities navigate the sand.

Africa to the Cotswolds: This Hummingbird hawk-moth was spotted in Gloucestershire. The day-flying species migrates from North Africa and Southern Europe each summer. Recent summer heatwaves and southerly winds have driven an increased influx in the county.

Parched land: These pictures taken from a flight over Gloucestershire and an aerial view over Cheltenham Racecourse show how the summer has left the landscape looking parched and dry.

After the rain: Stormy skies gathered over Gloucestershire Cathedral this week following a downpour, as much-needed rain arrived after a long period of dry weather.

Get moving: The Age UK Gloucestershire team took part in a dance fitness session as part of a new campaign which encourages people in mid life to embrace movement.

Winged flight: Thank you to BBC Weather Watcher CraigRich, who caught this photo of a Hummingbird Hawk Moth as it landed on a flower in Winterslow

Chippenham will always love you: Humphrey & Co accountancy in Chippenham have paid tribute to superstar Dolly Parton with a life-size cut out of the singer on display this week.

Team effort: Volunteers from British Gas rolled up their sleeves this week to help clear several skip loads of waste from inside Swindon's former tented market building in the town centre.

Oyez, oyez: Charlotte Howard, a horticulturist and actor, has been crowned the new Town Crier of Devizes , and is the first woman to hold the title.

Messages in the sand: Campaign group 38 Degrees organised a large message on the beach at Burnham-on-Sea calling on the Prime Minister to return water companies back to public ownership in a bid to reduce sewage discharges.

The Environment Agency said: "We know Burnham-on-Sea is a popular destination and that's why we are working closely with Wessex Water to improve the water quality within the wider catchment.

"We are regulating trials of natural ways to treat storm overflows discharges to help protect water quality."

Nation's favourite: The Strawberry Line path which runs through Somerset was named Britain's favourite path by walking charity The Ramblers following a month-long public vote.

Staff Praise: Patients praised teams at the Royal United Hospitals Bath (RUH) NHS Foundation Trust for treating them with kindness and compassion in the results of a newly published survey.

Bristol , Gloucestershire , Somerset and Wiltshire . Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630 .

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In pictures: Charity cold water dip and pupils help the homeless

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Tuesday, October 13, 2026

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