Last weekend, Saturday, 13th and Sunday, 14th August, Amberley Museum near Arundel in West Sussex held a Steampunk weekend.

Visitors donned top hats and frock coats, leather and lace, to revel in a weekend of Steampunk’s take on attitude and glamour.

With its collections of historical machinery, implements and vehicles, the museum was the ideal place to enjoy the special atmosphere engendered by steampunk.

It had been planned that visitors could enjoy free rides on the narrow gauge passenger train behind Peter, an early 20th-century steam locomotive, but because of the extremely hot and dry weather conditions, all trains were diesel hauled.

There was much for steampunk visitors to enjoy, with specialist traders offering a range of post-apocalyptic gear and retrofuturistic devices. Throughout the weekend there was entertainment from The Wattingers, Rapscallion, The Dark Design, Bear North, Humphrey & Maude, Dr Gray and Sheriif Ants Trepeneur, as well as Box Hill Bedlam Morris Side on Saturday and Belly Funk Dance Troupe on Sunday.

Further events planned at Amberley Museum include:

• Communications & Commercials on Sunday, 21st August when visitors can learn about communications from the past to the present day in the museum’s Connected Earth BT Exhibition. Visitors can see how telephone poles are tested for decay, how fibre optic cables are joined together, how a semaphore signalling system works. A range of commercial vehicles will also be on display.
• From Saturday 27th to Monday 29th August the museum is holding a Bank Holiday Ale & Crafts weekend where there will be music, a selection of locally brewed ales and local craftspeople will be selling everything from greetings cards and jewellery to stained glass items and wax gifts.
• On Saturday, 10th and Sunday, 11th September there is a Miniature Steam Weekend when visitors can watch and photograph fully working miniature steam engines travelling around the Museum site.