Stretham Engine House is a working pumping station, and home to collections of fenland tools and artifacts, but it’s the old steam/diesel engine that is really bonkers. The information provided to me by (the tired, but lovingly assembled) displays, and the friendly volunteer staff, gave a genuine sense of what life must have been like for the station staff charged with running the engines 24 hrs a day.  Open days offer visitors a chance to see the huge flywheel in action too, albeit at a fraction of its top speed. The remaining 2010 open days are: Sunday June 13th, Sunday 11th July, Sunday 8th August, August Bank Holiday Sunday & Monday 29th and 30th, and Sunday 12th September. Adult entry – £3.00, children – £1.00. Meanwhile, the Wisbech Fenland Museum boasts everything from a 15cm diameter hairball found inside a cow’s stomach to a copy of Great Expectations written in Dickens’ own hand. The museum at Wisbech reminded me of Ipswich museum. If you’ve ever visited you will be familiar with it’s resident wooly mammoth, and in a similar vein the collection at Wisbech ranges from the bizarre to the poignant, the ornate to the terrifying. There really is something for everyone. Kids will love it, especially the plethora of giant stuffed birds and mammals on display (the albatross was my favourite). The collections cover natural history, decorative and fine art, social and local history, locally and internationally important archaeology and anthropology, historic book and manuscript library….all of which can be enjoyed free! (donations gratefully accepted of course)Large image of Stretham Engine House. Inset: is a picture of the Wisbech Fenland Museum.