Every summer in the last week of August, my hometown in the heart of Wales travels back in time to celebrate all things Victorian from Dickens to steam train to penny-farthings.

The old spa town boasts a backdrop of eclectic architecture, including the old Pump House where you can still sample pure waters, the grand hotels and the aptly named Albert Hall Theatre. Punters stroll the streets in full period costume thinking, I presume, about the inappropriate amount of ankle on show at last night’s Old Time Music Hall.

As a child I remember spending many a summer watching ‘Best Hat’ competitions, endless street theatre, and suffragettes campaigning for the vote. Nowadays I find myself searching the shops for Lady Bracknell’s handbag, jealously catching a waft of fresh doughnuts before rushing to a marquee to curtsey and sip tea with our very own Queen Vic.

The festival culminates in a torch lit procession to the lake where a spectacular fireworks display is reflected in the water as we ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ just as our Victorian counterparts would have done.

Don your crinoline, tie your bonnet and see you there!

Text supplied by upcycler and text artist Rose Jackson Taylor

Image courtesy of Visit Britain