Trains and Boats and Planes. I found myself humming this Dionne Warwick hit from the 1960s on a recent visit to this fascinating county. I was in my element riding steam engines - trains, traction engines, even steam-powered fairground rides - on the edge of the South Downs. Later, I sailed on a steamboat and was awestruck by aircraft in Southampton.
Hollycombe (01428 724900, hollycombe.co.uk) is a woodland estate near Liphook. It boasts a remarkable collection of working steam engines. It features England's largest traditional fairground.
I visited with my granddaughter: nothing beats seeing an attraction like this through the eyes of a two-year-old. Florence shrieked with delight riding the steam-powered chair-o-plane and loved the miniature railway that traces a figure of eight around the garden. She was somewhat bemused, however, by the haunted house, with its shaking walkways, blind corners and wonky floors. Though simple by today's white knuckle standards, I am sure this antique had a real wow factor for fairgoers in 1915.
A highlight for children and adults alike is a ride on the gallopers, AKA the merry-go-round. Part of the fun is choosing your mount. There's a menagerie of animals to choose from, including cockerels and ostriches as well as horses. Built by Tidman of Norwich around 1912, the ride is driven by a central steam engine. Steam billows out of the roof and a fairground organ hammers out music as the ride rotates.
Denne historien er fra October 2023-utgaven av Best of British.
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Denne historien er fra October 2023-utgaven av Best of British.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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THE FEW ON SCREEN
Steven Taylor looks at the Battle of Britain across film and TV
Table Service
Rachel Toy looks at the history of Ridgway Homemaker tableware
Hever Forever
Claire Saul studies the newly refurbished Boleyn Apartment at Hever Castle & Gardens - a castle fit for a queen
Shining a Light
Tony O’Neil tunes into the history of the last manned lightvessel
The Man With the Goldeneye
Film stills photographer Keith Hamshere describes how he came to enter the world of James Bond
THE ORIGINAL GOLDEN BALLS
lan Wheeler looks back on 70 years of Tiger comic and Roy of the Rovers, and chats to the man who edited and oversaw both titles
To Play the Queen
Chris Hallam looks back on the life of one of the UK’s best known lookalikes
POOLING RESOURCES
Martin Handley looks at what life was like after the Vernons Girls
POSTCARD FROM= SUSSEX
Bob Barton indulges in pleasure piers and fairground delights, as well as fulfilling a long-held ambition to visit the home of Rudyard Kipling
Oh, Miss Jones
Chris Hallam looks back at the origins and legacy of Rising Damp, ITV's most successful sitcom