claymills victorian pumping station

One of the hidden gems of Burton-on-Trent. So much hard work and restoration has gone on to produce a real feel for the Victorian incredible engineers and workers. An illustration of the ability of Victorian England. Worth a visit.

Having lived in Burton for 2years we wanted to experience some of the history it has to offer. Yesterday they pump station was open and actually steaming. It was a fab experience to wander round the 2 pump houses and compare the refurbished and original non refurbed towers.The staff that work there are very knowledgable and passionate about the history and stories of the place. I loved seeing the Workshop with the wood work and the black smith Gen. A really great, interesting and fact filled day.

This is a place worth visiting at least twice - once when in steam (when it can get quite busy) and once when not.The sheer grace and power of these machines is simply mesmerising - the volunteers, many in period costume seem to know about pretty much every nut and bolt - which given they've cleaned,polished, restored and re-built every one of them isn't really surprising.So why visit when it isn't running ? Simply because of good old Health & Safety. When the machinery has cooled and is static many of the guards can be removed and you can get really close up and personal with some magnificent engineering. Also photographically due to low light you're going to appreciate a tripod and some low shutter speeds.Become a member and you can go even more places :)

We live 5 minutes down the road, but we've never been. Until this weekend, just gone. It's run by volunteers, they are so friendly and welcoming, I rate it very highly. Must see; the bathroom, the ww1 museum. The Blacksmith, the CD pumping room, the boiler room. The cafe. The model railway, Hornby 00 gauge. All of it!! Its also a very good idea to get a children's "ratty" trail. We learned so much just in one afternoon.

Many thanks for kindly visiting the Claymills Victorian Pumping Station. We very much hope to see you again and please tell your friends and family about us.Best wishesThe Claymills Pumping Engines Trust

Many thanks for kindly visiting the Claymills Victorian Pumping Station. We very much hope to see you again and please tell your friends and family about us.Best wishesThe Claymills Pumping Engines Trust

The volunteers are very informative. We were amazed by the work they are doing with very little financial support

What a great day out. Really interesting look at engineering and how they are slowly restoring the old pumps. The volunteers are all really lovely and obviously love what they do. Well worth a visit.

We went on the spur of the moment as it was a steaming weekend at the Claymills Victorian Pumping Station. We went in a few of the sheds and saw the amazing engines which had been restored to their former glory and some which are still in the process of being restored. We spoke to a very informative gentleman who had been restoring one of the engines for about a year and has another year to go. He took us down to the bath house where there was a warm bath to be had by the people who worked there in the Victorian times and their families. They were allowed a bath once a week! It's really worth a visit and the people who volunteer are so friendly and nothing is too much trouble for them. The smell of the engines steaming reminded me of my younger days when I used to work at British Rail as it was then. As a junior clerk I was always sent to the workshops to deliver and collect the mail and the smell of the oil and machinery came back to me at the Claymills steaming day. It really is worth a visit especially on steaming days. We also enjoyed a lovely cup of tea for a reasonable price.

This is our second visit and we were not disappointed! The volunteers are anabsolute delight special mention must go to Ernie who really stole our children's hearts. I would recommend anyone to visit on a steam day, a MUST see attraction!

Went here with my hubby, even though it's not my thing, I knew my hubby would really enjoy it, the volunteers work really hard on the project of getting all the steam machines working, it was like being transported back into the past. I even found it fascinating, and the part I liked best was the old bath house, which was housed in a celler type of building the workers and there family were allowed to bathe there once a week, it was considered a perk as there was hot water for them, they still had a very old piece of carbolic soap even though it had changed colour it had gone a lot darker and it was dried out it still had the same original smell which took me back to my nans house many years ago. It's fabulous to think that all these masterpieces are being resurrected for the future generations. Well done to claymills long may it continue.

Look out for their open days (most bank hols I think) when they have the engine house in steam as well as lots of other machines up and running.The staff are all very knowledgeable and friendly, able to answer all your questions - I really felt I understood how the whole system works!There's also a good cafe (and toilets!), i-spy type trail for the kids, and an area full of fund-raising second-hand books/games/jigsaws & bric-a-brac stalls.An enjoyable day out for all the family!

Many thanks for kindly visiting the Claymills Victorian Pumping Station. I was very sorry to hear that your were disappointed and in fact we will be reviewing our Craft Fairs. However, we very much hope to see you again possibly at one of our steaming events.Best wishesThe Claymills Pumping Engines Trust

I recently dragged my 8 year old daughter here and we had a fantastic day out, the volunteers were fantastic, and she even got to drive a steam powered winch.Seeing the beam engines in action was also incredible, would strongly recommend a visit.

family fun, very kind and informative staff, great working pumps and steam engines. Tea room, kids get to have hands on fun on the steam engines, with a badge to say you did it, and a competition to find the rat! whats not to like!