Steam day at Dapdune Wharf

Dapdune Wharf, on the Wey Navigation in Guildford, is owned and managed by the National Trust. Today it played host to a gathering of the Steam Boat Association of Great Britain (who knew?). There was an assortment of small steam driven boats and launches occasionally emitting loud hissing and hooting noises as they literally let off steam - much to the consternation of the various dogs that had been brought along on a fine afternoon by their owners. There were other representations of a bygone steam age, as depicted in the extra photos of a road going steam vehicle and a model steam train running round a track set up by local model railway enthusiasts in a hut on site. A pleasant way for my wife and me to while away a couple of hours after dropping Jen off at the station to head down to Brighton for an evening out with her sisters. It gave me an opportunity to find out more about the Wey Navigation, which opened in 1653 providing a navigable route up to the River Thames at Weybridge and then on to London. It enabled heavy loads to be transported to and from London, including gunpowder - the old  gunpowder store at Dapdune is now used as a children's activity/learning area. The Navigation continued to be in commercial use until as late as 1983 - quite exceptional given that road and rail transport had long been in the ascendancy by then.