Club Outing to The Heritage Park - Pitstone Green Museum
Having consulted the membership, this year’s club outing was a visit to a local venue thus avoiding a long drive. The Pitstone Museum is about a 45 minute drive from St Albans and its exhibits are housed in a collection of farm buildings dating back to the 1830s. The exhibits capture a by-gone age, albeit there is a fair selection of post war technology.
We were a bit down on numbers; there were just short of 20 of us, but all had an enjoyable day. We met there just before 11 and we left before 4. The weather was kind.
Besides agricultural equipment displays, the selection of exhibits included displays of craftsmen’s and artisan’s workshops from the late 19th to the mid 20th century, early 20th century household goods and early wirelesses and computers. There is even an active model engineering workshop with a good number of stationary engines. The most exceptional exhibit is a full-size replica of a WW2 Lancaster Bomber cockpit.
There were some extras on display, classic cars and motorbikes, and Frank Banfield was there with a mechanical toy stand (he’s looking forward to entertaining us with a show from his unique film collection). This museum has something for everybody and the team of volunteers that man the displays are very knowledgeable.
There were various demonstrations including woodturning, smithing, basket weaving and lace-making. There were activities available for visitors, and some of our group tested their skills. We drew the line at Morris Dancing, but some of the ladies spent time at the pottery table decorating various clay models (perhaps exhibits for our stand at the club exhibition!) One of our members was gifted some timber and we even picked up a new member (well an old member re-joining).
A very good choice of outing venue.
Clive Reynolds. 14th July 2022