Outside St Johns church on May Day

Dancing in Bristol celebrating May Day at 5:43am.
Photograph courtesy of Robert CJ Browne


Who are we?

We are Bristol's longest-established men's Morris Dance Side, founded in 1951. We perform Cotswold Morris Dances, (some more traditional than others!), to music provided by melodeon, concertina, fiddle or pipe and tabor.
Our current active membership is around a dozen, but we are always on the lookout for new dancers or musicians. We also have a cantankerous horse, called (funnily enough) Horse, who has his own Web Page.

We are always delighted to welcome prospective new members. No previous experience is necessary as we will teach you. If you can dance or are a musician, then it is just a matter of learning the dances we do. Like most Morris sides our practice season is mainly during the winter months (from the beginning of September to mid April) and so this is the best time to join. However, this is not a hard and fast rule and you are welcome to join us at anytime. We like to think that the official start of our dancing year is on May Day - May 1st - when we commence at sunrise (5:42ish) in Castle Park, Bristol.

Where can you find us?

As of 8th September 2022 we will be returning to weekly practises starting at 8.15 p.m.

Our current practice hall is the gymnasium of the Queen Elizabeth's Hospital School, Bristol BS8 1JX - use the entrance partway down Jacob's Wells Road. Click here for a map from OpenStreetMap!

At around 10.00 p.m., when practice is over we go and have a pint at the excellent Eldon House on Meridian Vale.

If you would like to join us or would like more information contact for further details.

Where can you see us perform?

Here is our Calendar of Performances, regularly updated.

On tour with Hankies gone Awry (from California) and Somerset Morris a video of us doing Trunkles (in the style of Wheatley). Thanks to Andrew Futter who took the video.

Or see us in the video below, shot one May day.

What else do we do?

Keynsham Mummers Play

On Boxing Day we perform the Keynsham Mummers Play in Keynsham.
For more information contact .