The Town That Never Was is a steampunk weekend run by the same group that do The Asylum steampunk festival. Held at Blists Hill Museum in the Iron Bridge Gorge it’s a lot of fun, with all kinds of exhibitions and events, as well as loads of people dressing up in their finest steampunk outfits (myself included) to really get into the swing of things. This was my second year going, but for those who have never been before here is a short summary of what to expect.

Blists Hill

First up, the location is amazing. Blists Hill Museum is one of those living museums where you have people in period costume hanging around telling you all about life in Victorian times. I go there even when there’s no events on because why wouldn’t you!

They have a working chippy (which cooks in lard unfortunately, so no good for little old vegan me), a sweet shop (which I definitely could buy thing in), a bakery, a candle makers, a print shop, in fact all kinds of working businesses you can visit, not just ones that sell food. They alone make Blists Hill worth a visit all by itself.

Exhibitors

Lots of steampunk creators like myself go along to events like The Town That Never Was because it’s not only a great way to meet fans of your work, but it gives you the chance to maybe entice a few more to give it a try. Everyone’s always so nice when you meet them, they love talking about the things they create, and I invariably walk away with something new and interesting in my bag.

I’m going to do a whole post highlighting some of the creatives I came across this weekend – like Hopeless Maine, Gary Nicholls’ Imaginarium, and Herr Doktor – so you’ll forgive me if I don’t go into too much detail about them here. Suffice to say that they’re doing some very interesting stuff!

Shops

Buying things is one of the main reasons to go to a convention like this. Whether it’s something new to read or something nice to wear, events like this are the best places to get the more unusual stuff you don’t get on somewhere like Amazon.

I managed to get myself a new, light-weight vintage waistcoat, from the lovely couple in the image above, and let me tell you, I needed it! It was so damn hot all weekend I couldn’t face two days in the heavy woolen waistcoat I normally wear.

Events

One of the joys of something like The Town That Never Was is that there’s always something going on. Whether it’s steampunk cowboys robbing the post office, a troop of burlesque belly dancers, or a Victorian R2-D2 rolling about the place, the fact that you can walk into something around any corner really helps immerse you in the whole experience.

Cosplay

People love dressing up, and none more so than the steampunk community. I saw some amazing outfits at Blists Hill, which must have taken hours to put together. So many in fact that they too deserve a whole post of their own.

If you can’t wait you can see all the photos I took on my Instagram feed right now, but for the moment here’s a choice selection of some of the best to be getting on with.

In Conclusion

Simply put, whether you’re into steampunk or not (and there were plenty there who had just gone along for the museum alone) a visit to The Town That Never Was at Blists Hill is well worth it. It’s once a year, round about July, and whilst £29 per person isn’t cheap, the fact that you can visit any of the other museums in Iron Bridge for a full year afterwards makes it a good deal in my book.

I’ll be going along next year, hopefully as an exhibitor if all goes to plan. Maybe I’ll see you there?