I went out with them last year and they were pretty crap, all road work and standing around for hours at a time. Maybe I had a bad day, but they can't seem to find the scent the have already laid
Was out cubbing with Weston & Banwell we found 2 socks while they found nothing only a couple of miles away.
They usually start a bit later than us so would think end of Oct. I would not bother with Mendip a lot of road work. Depends how brave you are I guess as Weston & Banwell certainly jumps.