What a significant day it was for the
world when Mr James Watt looked at his kettle boiling away on the
stove, lid dancing as steam poured skyward, and said to himself: “Do
you know what, Watt? I reckon I could harness that steam and put it
to good use.”
Well, that's not really the way it
happened because Watt, contrary to popular belief, was not the first to come up with the idea
of steam power. What he did come up with was the crucial modifications that made steam
engines commercially useful. A marvellous book called 'The Lunar Men'
by Jenny Uglow is well worth reading for the full story of the
extraordinary men who powered the Industrial Revolution with their
inventions and their money.
I for one am a great admirer of old
machinery: farm equipment, factory machines, trains, earthmovers and
of course the fantastic old fairground rides. With those in mind, I
set out for a day at Hollycombe Steam in the Country just outside
Liphook in Hampshire.
Hollycombe is easy to find and there's
masses of free parking. The place is entirely run by enthusiastic
volunteers so a weekend visit will find the maximum number of
attractions in operation.
My visit was on a Thursday so not
everything was open, but more than enough to keep me entertained. The
only one I would really have liked to see was the Bioscope, a replica
of the first travelling picture shows with original film. This type
of show used a steam engine to generate electricity which powered the
arc lamp projector.
In the fairground there is a steam
powered ferris wheel, a haunted house (no steam required), steam
swings, chair-o-planes, cute little kiddie rides of which my
favourite was the Austin cars.
My all-time favourite ride for all
ages: is the merry-go-round. I learnt something new while chatting with
the volunteer who was operating this ride. What we in Australia call
a merry-go-round, they call gallopers. The Americans have the
carousel which, he told me, turns in an anti-clockwise direction,
where the gallopers and our merry-go-round turn in a clockwise
direction.
A narrow gauge railway runs through
woodland to a high lookout where it pauses for passengers to take in
the magnificent view to the Sussex Weald. Two steam quarry engines
are in use and one diesel engine. The quaint little blue-painted carriages were
once in service on the long closed Ramsgate Electric Railway. There's
also a miniature steam railway, operating on a tiny 7 ¼ inch gauge,
which does a loop through the garden.
Wandering away from the fairground keen
steam lovers can see a fantastic collection of farm machinery
including an impressive 1840 beam engine as developed by the
aforementioned James Watt in the mid 1700s. On special event days the
ploughing and threshing machines are put to work, no doubt to the
great enjoyment of spectators.
The gardens of the Hollycombe Estate
make a pleasant respite from the hurly-burly of the fair ground and
would be at their colourful best in the spring when the masses of
azaleas and rhododendrons would be in bloom.
The entry fee gives full access to
everything that's happening at Hollycombe, have as many rides as you
like and bring your own picnic lunch. Now that's my kind of show.
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