Outing to Stretham Steam Fair

A family highlight in October was visiting the Stretham steam fair which takes place in the fens near Ely. Stretham has an old steam pumping engine which was used to pump water off the land into the river to prevent flooding. As the fens were drained the peat dried out and shrank, leaving the rivers at a higher level than the land so flooding is a very real danger. The work this engine used to do is now done by an electric pump situated about a mile and 1/2 mile away on the river Cam, but the site has been made into a museum by the Stretham Old Engine Trust and they have open days and a steam fair when people bring along old cars, steam engines etc.
We spent half a day poking around the site. Whole families seem to come along with their items and sit around reading and watching them, driving them or merely sleeping in them. The engine hall was populated by fairly elderly men watching the 'steam up' and finding it all fascinating.
Here are some memories of the day.













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