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Bressingham Steam and Gardens
Bressingham Steam and Gardens
Thetford Road Near Diss,
Norfolk IP22 2AB
Tel: 01379 686900
About the Bressingham Steam and Gardens
Bressingham Steam Museum And Gardens is a captivating family attraction that combines in a uniquely British way superb natural heritage and enthralling history. Located near the lovely village of Bressingham, not far from Diss in Norfolk, Bressingham Steam Museum And Gardens was established by gardener and horticulturalist Alan Bloom, who spent his entire working life studying and preserving all manner of plant species and delighting the thousands of visitors to his estate, who admired his handiwork each year.
As well as many fabulous acres of landscaped habitat and gardens that are on show to ticket holders on a family day out to Bressingham Steam Museum And Gardens, the park has more than five miles of narrow-gauge steam railway track, and it serves as a major draw for steam enthusiasts from across the UK and beyond. The family attraction has a host of gauges for the train spotter to hop onto, in the shape of the Garden Railway (10.25 inch gauge), the Nursery Railway (24 inch gauge) and the Waveney Valley Railway (15 inch gauge). Additionally, there’s a section of standard gauge track, so that ticket holders are spoilt for choice on where to have their ticket stamped first.
The collection of steam locomotives at Bressingham Steam Museum And Gardens is equally impressive, with more than 40 engines to admire, from the smallest of shunters to hefty steam locomotives, traction and stationary engines, and a number of associated vehicles, restored to a gleaming standard that would have the Fat Controller beaming. The family attraction and its rail collection grew in tandem from their inception in 1946, when Bloom bought Bressingham Hall. After first extending the pond area to almost a hectare, and establishing the first informal garden so as to underscore the natural beauty of the Park’s woodlands, the new owner set about developing a steam heritage centre with engines and other associated paraphernalia that would serve as a regional and eventually national collection. Assisted by his son, Adrian, by 1967 they’d created their very own terminus in miniature, alongside the two-hectare Foggy Bottom garden. Now stretching for some 500 acres, this area is the site of the Bressingham Garden Centre, which is a popular destination for both ticket holders on a family day out and locals in search of something for their borders.
By the time that Bloom senior died in 2005, aged 98, he and his family had presided over the growth of a nationally recognised family attraction – the fulfilment of a lifetime ambition that had initially seemed unattainable, as Bloom’s original theme park at Oakington in Cambridgeshire was compulsorily purchased by the Chesterton Rural District Council and closed down. Despite all the trails and tribulations that he faced, Bressingham Steam Museum And Gardens proved its worth and grew over the years, both in extent, reputation and variety, making it an ideal family day out with something for everyone.
As well as relaxation at the family attraction, afforded by the lush picnic areas and two restaurants, Bressingham Steam Museum And Gardens boasts the Dell garden, with its unusual ‘island beds’, and a commercial horticulture facility, Blooms Of Bressingham.
Furthermore, ticket holders visiting the family attraction can be diverted by open-air theatre productions, anniversary celebrations for different parts of the garden and special horticultural events.
Then there’s the official Dad’s Army exhibition that has an array of memorabilia and objects used in the long-running BBC TV comedy series, situated in a re-creation of the Walmington-on-Sea High Street of the TV and film. Items used by Captain Mainwaring, Corporal Jones, Sergeant Wilson, Frazier, Godfrey, Pike and the rest bring back fond memories of both the 60s and 70s TV era, and the war in which the fictional Home Guard defended shores like those off Bressingham. The exhibition includes uniforms, scripts, props and the like and is worth the price of the ticket alone for TV buffs, and is sure to raise a smile on a family day out where the weather cannot dampen the British spirit – you stupid boy!
The development of the gardens at Bressingham Steam Museum And Gardens is also ongoing, with the recent addition of a Winter Garden designed by Adrian Bloom and his team. It features trees, shrubs, hardy perennials, a variety of grasses and a range of bulbs. The Summer Garden boasts miscanthus, crocosmia, agapanthus, geraniums, eupatorium and asters, making for an imposing display to greet ticket holders at the entrance to the family attraction. The six acres of Foggy Bottom also have plants from numerous overseas territories, flanking the garden’s paths, trees and shrubs.
The Fragrant Garden, laid out in 1963 and undergoing a redesign, features spring and autumn plants, notably scented flowers and foliage, while the three acres of Adrian’s Wood link Foggy Bottom and the Dell Garden with five giant sequoiadendron giganteum, or giant redwood trees. Some of them stretch upwards into the sky for over 80 feet, which is a dramatic rate of growth in only 40 years or so. The Wood additionally features an array of impressive North American species and cultivars of hardy perennials, various grasses, bulbs, trees and shrubs.
Bressingham Steam Museum And Gardens has accommodation dotted about the Hall and its environs, detailed at the family attraction’s website. Indeed, the grandiose Hall is worth visiting on a fascinating and relaxing family day out, oozing history from its every pore. Taken together, Bressingham Steam Museum And Gardens is a unique and spellbinding family attraction, guaranteeing a family day out with something for everyone.