This week’s research took me to the site of Pode Hole Steam Engine house.  I was lucky enough to get a tour of the current engine room. It smelt and felt like a ship’s engine  (or what I imagine one to smell like as I don’t think I have ever actually been in an engine room!).  There are mind-boggling  statistics about how much water the engines can shift in a short space of time i.e. enough to supply the population of London in water!

Being in windmills, always makes me think of the similarities between Millers and sailors in the sense that the Mill’s perform at their best with a good understanding of wind – from earth and air comes food.   The sound of the sails turning is a serene experience.  I guess a pump engine ‘captain’, has to sail a ship too – even though it is on old sea bed and the point is to extract water rather then be on it!