Only a few weeks after our own wedding, today we were out celebrating the wedding of our good friends Phil and Caroline at the Bass Museum in Burton. I'd never been to the National Brewery Centre before and so I was interested to visit the venue as a wedding guest. Between the service and the reception, we had time for drinks and mingling. I took the opportunity to creep behind the marquee for a look at Bass No9: a sweet little saddle tank tucked away under a canopy minding its own business...This lovely little engine was built in 1901 by Neilson, Reid and Co of Glasgow for the railway system at the Bass Brewery. Following her service life with Bass she was withdrawn in 1964 and has been on display in pretty much the same location for decades since. I don't believe it has ever steamed in preservation and it remains on silent display, peering out through the fence onto the main road...Leaving the plinthed No9 behind, we wandered across to look at some of the other exhibits on display. There was a variety of vintage vehicles in and around the various buildings. This pretty lorry felt worthy of a picture...In a nearby stable were the two brewery museum shire horses: Jed and JD. Jed is pictured looking on, not remotely bothered by my boring presence...Out in the yard, the newly married couples Aveling & Porter steam roller "Louise" stood immaculately alongside Caroline's dad's 1882 McLaren...
After our lovely reception meal, the vintage McLaren was prepared to head back to its home at Klondyke Mill by driver Chris. What a lovely old thing...The roller meanwhile remained for the whole evening and is pictured here with lamps burning brightly as the sun sets after a wonderful day...A little after 11pm it was time for us to head back to our hotel, with special thanks for a kind lift from Mick and Julia. What a lovely day it had been but what a hot one: it was a scorching hot day throughout thanks to the recent heatwave!
Congratulations to the new Mr and Mrs Bates and thank you so much for inviting us to be a part of your special day. It was a grand day out chatting, eating and drinking with friends! Cheers all and goodnight.
Update: Since writing this post we have learnt that the Bass Museum site is sadly to close at the end of October. Let's hope the exhibits find good homes!
2 comments:
Excellent venue and, I read that it's closing, based on the latest SR magazine!
It is, Phil...well, it has. We're just waiting to hear what will happen to the exhibits. It would be nice to see the Bass engine running again somewhere not far from Burton...
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