Head to Portsmouth docks for a celebration of steam

Tickets to Celebration of Steam which is taking place Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th May are selling fast but there’s still time to buy your tickets so you don’t miss out on all the fun.

Famous sausages, sumptuous real ales, steam engines galore, the exclusive opportunity to view the Block Mills, gifts and crafts, model boat displays and Ivor the Engine are just a taster of what you can expect to see and enjoy this year at Celebration of Steam.

Tickets to this popular family favourite also include entrance to all attractions on site, HMS Victory, HMS Warrior 1860, the Mary Rose, Royal Naval Museum and Action Stations (except Harbour Tours).

Ivor the Engine and his best friend Idris the Dragon will be joining us at the event, direct from the top left hand corner of Wales accompanied by the ‘Deck and Fo’c’sle’ shanty singers. Be prepared to sing along as their voices fill the site and they’ll also be throwing in a few Welsh hymns to help Ivor and Idris feel at home.

HMS Warrior 1860 was originally powered by both steam and sail and there will be a number of Ivor the Engine storytelling sessions onboard over the weekend to bring Ivor alive. The books will also be available to purchase from the ‘Merchandise Hut’ along with many other mementos including some limited edition Ivor the Engine stamps, some of which have been signed by Peter Firmin (the illustrator) himself.

Winner of Britain’s ‘Best sausage maker award’, O’Hagan’s Sausages of Sussex are attending the event with a variety of sausages including one which will be the Trafalgar 200 sausage. Made with 90% pork and a hint of rum for the sailors and a touch of garlic to remind the French who won the battle. Refreshments can be purchased from Oakleaf Brewery and Olde Joe’s Cider to name just a few.

The Medina Monarch is the world’s smallest commercial paddle steamer and one of only three passenger carrying steamers in the country. We are delighted to announce she will be giving free rides (subject to weather conditions).

Another treat that is now confirmed to attend is Robert Coles, Sons & Daughter of Shaftesbury, Dorset’s Showman’s engine Quo Vadis, meaning ‘Whither Goest Thou’. This was the first and only Showman’s Engine to ever travel to the Southern Hemisphere and back again.

Ralf Cook’s 1947 portable saw mill is back this year along with Les and Dee Searle’s 1901 Fowler 8nhp Road Locomotive and Crane engine ‘The Great North’. They will be doing live demonstrations of how logs would have been craned onto the saw mill and cut into planks within the dockyard.

The Block Mills, famous for being the world's first complete steam powered factory with block-making machinery invented by Brunel's Father, Marc Brunel in 1803 are not normally open to the public but they will be for this event, giving a number of exclusive tours to visitors at Celebration of Steam. Make sure you register early if you want to go on one of these tours as we are expecting they will be very popular.

For both enthusiasts and those who enjoy shopping, there will be a large collection of traders and exhibitors, including traditional craft and gift stalls.

To help ease congestion in the city for this event, Portsmouth’s park & ride service will be running on the Saturday of the event. The service, launched earlier this year by Portsmouth City Council, runs every Saturday and only costs £2.50 per car.

Buses go from the park & ride site at Lakeside North Harbour (formerly IBM) to the city centre shops and then to Gunwharf Quays shopping centre, for the Spinnaker Tower and the Historic Dockyard.

Tickets for the event are adults: £12, concessions: £10, family (up to 5 people, maximum of 2 adults/seniors): £36. Tickets include entrance to all attractions on site: HMS Warrior 1860, HMS Victory, Mary Rose, Royal Naval Museum and Action Stations (excludes Harbour Tours).

For further information visit historicdockyard.co.uk.