About
Visit Britain's most complete Victorian Pumping Station, Claymills in Burton upon Trent and step back in time at our museum or enjoy guided tour. See the site in all it's glory during a Steaming Weekend.
Steaming open days:
Early May Bank Holiday: May 5th & 6th - 20 Rolls Royce cars of varying ages on site 5th May
Spring Bank Holiday: May 26th & 27th - Classic Cars and Bikes on site 26th May; visit from the Gowrie Locomotive Trust bringing a display and small engines 27th May.
Summer Bank Holiday: August 25th & 26th - Italian cars on site, varying ages.
September 28th & 29th - National Fire Service display, 40's engines and tea wagon. A body will be rescued from the roof of one of the engine houses!
October 26th & 27th - Steam punks on site. Excellent photo opportunities. Burton u3a Ukelele group performing in the 130 house at lunch time.
What's the difference between a Steaming Weekend, and static viewing?
Static viewing you can do any time our double gates are open; we'll be happy to welcome you, let you wander round or give you a guided tour, but you won't see the thing that makes Claymills come alive; the engines working.
We raise steam 7 times a year; if there's a Bank Holiday, our weekend is Sunday and Monday, if not, plain old Saturday and Sunday. It takes 3 days of hard work by the boiler men and £1,000 worth of coal per day to raise that steam in our 30ft Lancashire boilers - they've been known to appreciate visitors taking a hand at stoking!
The steam drives our Victorian workshop, all 4 five-storey-high beam engines that used to pump all the sewage and brewery waste away from Burton, (don't worry, we don't do that anymore,) more than 20 other smaller ancillary stationary engines, our working dynamos, (the oldest in the country,) and even heats the water in our Victorian bath-house.
Whilst the boiler men are raising steam, the front of house team are preparing the children's activities, welcoming visiting exhibitors, and making sure that our Stoker's Rest café is well stocked with snacks and cakes.
You can stop for a cuppa and get a light meal before (or after) walking around the site taking in the sights, sounds and smells, (hissing steam, hot oil, our Whispering Giant beam engines,) and talking to our very knowledgeable volunteers, who, of course, are the ones who bring the place to life at a steaming.
Open Days (Non steaming days):
Model Steam Engines: 15th/16th June, Model Steam Engines on display across the site
Model Railway & Engineering Exhibition: 13th / 14th July, Model railway exhibition, plenty of models of various sizes including a model of Burton Brewery Railways (unique chance to see this visiting display which is coming from York)
Land Rover Day: 11th August, Range of Land Rovers on site, varying ages.
Heritage Open Days: 7th & 14th Sept, Heritage Open Days events – a chance to see Claymills at night-time, doors open 19.30
Guided tours
Let our expert knowledgeable guides tell you all about the station, answer your questions and take you to a couple of special off-limits locations.
On Steaming Days: 11:00am & 1:30pm - meet at the Gatehouse
Non-steaming days: 11:00am & 1:00pm - meet in the Stokers Rest Café
The Museum is also open for static viewing
• Thursdays (10:00am - 4:00pm)
• Saturdays (10:00am - 4:00pm)
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