AFTER being locked away and unable to enjoy themselves for nearly two years, as Iggy Pop once said, people had a “lust for life”.

With thoughts of coronavirus restrictions set to one side, tens of thousands of people have filed through the turnstiles to enjoy the celebration of steam that is the Guinness World Record holding Great Dorset Steam Fair.

Martin Oliver, Steam Fair Managing Director, said: “Everyone, without exception, had missed the Steam Fair massively, these past two years. Once we’d announced this year’s show would go ahead, enquiries for camping came in thick and fast.

“We’d always said there’s so much going on, you’ll struggle to see and do everything in just one day. We have a 600-acre showground, and we use every square metre of it.”

Bournemouth Echo:

A highlight for many visitors is the majestic showmen’s engines, standing proudly in front of the ‘old-time’ fairground rides. At night, they transform into a cavalcade of light and music, all powered by steam.

It’s not just about steam, either. The heavy horses, the forerunners of steam on the farm, put on one of the most prestigious heavy horse displays in the country, working the land in the traditional way using farming implements from a bygone age.

Bournemouth Echo:

Saturday brought a poignant pause in the revelry with ‘Whistles at Midday’, as Martin Oliver, together with the Steam Fair chaplain, took a moment, to remember all those friends of the show lost during the last three years.

At midday, Martin invited each and every steam engine owner on site, to blow their whistles, in a chorus of celebration.

Bank holiday Monday is the final day of the show, with tickets half price (adults £17.50) and children enter for free.