THINGS are getting steamy at Coldharbour Mill Working Wool Museum on New Year’s Day as its expert steam team blow away the cobwebs and steam up the Lancashire boiler to provide a family day out rich in history.

Visitors can experience the unique sights, smells and sounds of a preserved working Victorian woollen mill. The steam team, led by steam curator John Jasper, will run a number of historic steam engines including the Kittoe and Brotherhood beam engine, Pollitt and Wigzell engine and steam pump. The fully restored water wheel built especially for the mill in 1821 will also be in action.

Inside the mill, visitors can take a self-guided tour to see demonstrations of how the Victorians turned wool fibre into beautiful knitting yarns and fabrics on the historic spinning frames and shuttle looms lovingly restored by a team of dedicated volunteers.

The day also plays host to local jazz musician Charlie Hearnshaw who will be playing his distinctive music accompanied by the rhythm and sounds of the mill’s many machines to create a fusion of sound.

Younger visitors will have the chance to see Culm Valley Model Railway Club’s layouts and have a go at operating its special SOLDOR track, and a spectacular display of dolls’ houses as well as seeing history brought to life in a unique way.

The mill is five minutes from J27 of the M5 – just follow the brown signs to Working Wool Museum. For more information visit www.

coldharbourmill.org.uk or Coldharbour Mill’s Facebook page.