You don’t have to be a trainspotter to enjoy these
IT’S LONDON underground’s 150th birthday this month. Love it or loathe it, there is no doubt that this “trains in the drains” endeavour has become known as one of London’s greatest engineering feats. But there are several others dotted around England and here we list some of the best.
ThrustSCC is the current Land Speed Record-holiday car and is on display at the Coventry Transport Museum. It was designed and built by an English team headed by the charismatic Richard Noble, and was driven through the sound barrier by RAF Wing Commander Andy Green in 1997. Visitors may experience the land speed record-breaking run in the ThrustSSC simulator. The same team is now in advanced stages of building a new car, Bloodhound SSC, which it is hoped will break the 1,000 mph barrier.
The East and West hill funiculars were built to attract tourists and transport them to Hasting hills. The West cliff railway, by the ruins of Hastings Castle, was opened in 1891. A 363 ft brick-lined tunnel was driven through a cave at an inclination of 1:3. The 500 ft journey to the top offers rooftop views of the old town seen squeezed between two hills. The journey takes a few minutes and original carriages are still in use. The East hill funicular is the steepest in England. It’s now an electric operation and the carriages, new in 2010, are replicas of the mahogany-framed cars with oak strip flooring and arched roofs. A return ticket costs £2.50.
The Standedge Tunnel, England’s longest, highest and deepest canal tunnel, passes under the Pennines between Diggel and Marsden. Built over 200 years ago, the tunnel is nearly three-and-a-half miles long and took 16 years to build. The final section was overseen by engineer Thomas Telford in 1811. It’s one of canal expert Robert Aickman’s Seven Wonders of the Waterways and you can explore deep into the tunnel on a family-friendly guided boat trip, stop for a bite to eat in the local cafe and let kids explore the wildlife garden. Entry to the tunnel is free. The 30-minute boat trip costs £4.50 per adult and £3.50 per child.
The remains of Derby Roundhouse, the oldest surviving turning shed in the world, have been restored. The world’s first it was built by Robert Stephenson in 1839 for the North Midland Railway, contained 16 lines of rails, radiating from a single turn-table in the centre. The turntable was a work of genius because it meant a locomotive could be turned around for its return journey. The Derby Roundhouse was endorsed by Guinness World Records in 2012 and you can track down Derby’s rich railway heritage on a Roundhouse tour, taking in true-life stories of its
pioneers. Tours cost £6 per person.
Attend steam school and learn to ride and operate the world’s first passenger train at the Museum of Science and Industry. MOSI is housed in the buildings of Manchester’s Liverpool Road station, which was part of the world’s first passenger railway, the Liverpool & Manchester Railway built in 1830. Once used to transport goods between Liverpool and Manchester, it revolutionised travel and is now the oldest surviving passenger railway station in the world. Entry to the museum free.
John Taylor Bell Founders has been casting bells in Leicestershire since the 13th century. In 1881 they cast the largest bell in Britain, “Great Paul”, for St Paul’s Cathedral in London. The company is the largest foundry in the world and has a museum. Don’t miss the room full of bells from different ages and different founders — the display has a wooden mallet so you can sound the bells. Ding dong!
Dating back to 1627, this is believed to be the oldest windmill in the country. Pitstone ,ground flour for the village for almost 300 years until a storm in the early 1900s left it badly damaged. It was donated to the National Trust and restored. As you walk around, wonder at the way the mill and its machinery balance on the head of a massive wooden post, and see the tail pole that the miller had to wrestle with to turn the huge structure to face the wind Entry £2 for adults and £1 for children.