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Thursday 13th April 2023 Weeting, Norfolk, IP27 0QF

A full day of rural farming photography in Weeting featuring around 7 engines in steam working the land

Celebrate photographically a lost way of life with a return to traditional farming set against the splendid backdrop of the private Weeting Estate in Norfolk with around 7 engines engines in steam

£75.00

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About this event

UPDATE INFORMATION

We will have up to 7 road steam engines in steam that also includes a ploughing engine. We will be doing activities such as setting up for ploughing, wood sawing using a steam driven saw, lifting tree trunks with the crane engine, stone crushing plus much more. 

Engines expected to be in steam -

Dreadnaught Burrell engine with thrashing tackle 
Spitfire and living wagon
Sir Douglas new engine with a trailer to haul 
Princes Burrell engine towing a timber trailer 
Crane engine to load and lift 
Road roller with stone crushing trailer to haul
Plus several old tractors

Join us for a day filled with farming nostalgia as we recall the days when steam was an everyday part of rural life, with traction engines and appropriately-dressed crews and re-enactors.

Once upon a time, steam power ruled the roads, the waves, the rails and the fields. Giant ploughing engines hauling their crew’s living vans moved from farm to farm working the land, contractors built and repaired roads using road rollers and stone crushing machinery, fairgrounds with glittering showman’s engines lit up the night and railway locomotives headed powerful intercity expresses and trundled along rural branch lines with goods and local passenger trains. Gradually, as diesel and petrol began to supersede steam, the familiar and reassuring hiss of steam and shrill, distant whistles fell silent until by the early 1970s the use of steam commercially had all but vanished.

One of the finest locations to recreate the agricultural scenes of yesteryear is in the rural tranquility of the Weeting Estate near Brandon on the Norfolk-Suffolk border. Just a few miles from the historic town of Thetford where the famous works of Charles Burrell & Sons manufactured steam engines for use across the globe, an array of engines can on very special occasions still be seen at work performing the same duties in the same way they worked for over a century. We are very privileged to be given front row seats to watch and photograph through this window on the past, seeing scenes which turn back the clock to a time that is largely forgotten and certainly seldom seen today.

Our events allow you to capture the atmosphere of what for many were the golden years of agriculture, along with some of the other activities that were carried out with the help of steam traction. Today we will have several engines in steam covering a range of activities once common in the earlier years of the Twentieth Century. We will not only have the engines, but also use of living vans which used to be towed between work venues and used by crews for overnight stays and longer, plus other equipment associated with the steam era. Our crews and land girls all dress appropriately to complete the traditional scenes, providing ideal period cameos.

Those who have visited Weeting previously will know how enjoyable and hugely photogenic our events can be; if you have yet to visit, make this the year you join in the fun!

Our day will start around 10.30 and will run until around 17.30. There should be a number of different catering options available during the day, all cooked on the farm with costs kept to a minimum and all profits going to the upkeep of the vintage farm equipment. We will confirm if catering will be available nearer to the day.

This event is limited to 20 photographers to ensure comfortable surroundings.

Event requirements

Equipment

  • Spare batteries
  • Camera
  • Lense cloths
  • Lenses
  • Camera protection - rain covers etc

Other things you should bring

  • Flask of hot drink
  • Bottled water

Knowledge

  • All levels welcome

Fitness

  • Medium

Other essentials

  • Sturdy outdoor shoes
  • Warm clothing
  • Wet weather gear

Event location

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