Steaming Days at Nottingham Industrial Museum

Steaming Days returns to the Nottingham Industrial Museum on Sunday 29 November, the last Sunday of the month. It's a day of open steam and diesel engines, so if you've ever wanted to see these things actually running rather than just sitting under a layer of dust, this is when to go. The museum is run entirely by volunteers, and they're the ones who keep the engines going and lead the guided tours, so you'll have someone on hand to talk you through what you're looking at.

The main draw is the Engine Hall, which houses heritage engines dating back to the Industrial Revolution. Among them is the Basford Beam, which used to pump drinking water for the city, alongside mill engines that once powered factory machinery and two ploughing engines. Beyond the hall, five galleries cover the county's key industries: textiles, transport, communication, mining and power, with artefacts like an original Thomas Humber bicycle. The museum is geared towards families, with regular activities and family-oriented tours, and it offers free school visits.

Location-wise, it sits in and behind a 17th-century stable block at Wollaton Hall and Deer Park, so it's easy to make a full day of it. Nearby you'll find Wollaton Hall itself, the Elizabethan mansion, and the Natural History Museum at Wollaton Hall, which has held the city's natural history collections since the hall opened to the public in 1926.

Steaming Days runs from 11:00 to 15:30, with the last entry at 3:30pm. Entry is £6 for adults, £4 for concessions and students, and children go free as long as they're accompanied by an adult. The museum is at Wollaton Park, Nottingham, NG8 2AE.