October Steam Up

The London Museum of Water and Steam is running its October Steam Up on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October, with the engines firing up from 10am to 4pm both days. It's one of those events where the museum's collection actually does what it was built for: the colossal machines are set in motion by steam, and you get to see them working rather than just standing still.

The museum itself is housed in the former Kew Bridge Waterworks in Brentford, and it holds the world's largest collection of stationary steam engines. The whole place tells the story of London's public water supply and the pumping engines that helped transform the city, so there's a bit of local history to the whole thing. On these days, the engines run at regular intervals every half hour from 11.30am, including the reciprocating engines and two Cornish engines that are still in their original location. Between the runs, the team of engineers are on hand to talk through the science and the stories behind them, so you can ask questions about how they actually work.

It's a two-day thing, so you can pick whichever day suits you best. Entry is £15 for adults and £5 for children, and the museum is at Green Dragon Lane, Brentford, London TW8 0EN. The engines run every half hour from 11.30am, and the doors are open from 10am to 4pm.