The Milestones Museum in Basingstoke, Hampshire, will host its annual steampunk weekend on March 21 and March 22, 2026. The event, known as Cobbles & Cogs 2026, is a family-friendly festival that uses the museum’s indoor historic streets to create a Victorian fantasy world.
This year’s theme is inspired by the classic Jules Verne novel, Around the World in 80 Days. Visitors can take part in a globetrotting adventure that includes a daily parade at 2pm, teapot racing, and a curated market selling themed items. A new photo-passport activity has also been introduced to help guests explore the museum’s collection of vintage vehicles.
For those interested in the social side of the subculture, the museum will host sessions of tea duelling and various games throughout the weekend. The daytime activities are included with a standard museum annual pass, though the museum expects a high number of visitors from across the county.
A separate ticketed evening concert, called One Night in the Museum, will take place on Saturday, March 21, 2026. This special event will feature live music from several steampunk bands, including The Anti Poet, Sonic 909, The Cain Pit and the popular group Victor and the Bully.
The museum is operated by the Hampshire Cultural Trust and has been a staple of the Basingstoke Leisure Park since it was opened in December 2000. The steampunk festival has grown over the last six years into a major local event that highlights the town’s industrial history through a creative lens.
About this article: This story was put together with the help of AI tools and checked by a real person on our team. We're a small crew trying to cover as much of the UK as we can on a limited budget. We're getting better every day - but we're not perfect yet. If something looks off, let us know. You're part of the process.
