Don’t forget to check our Events Diary for more information on events in all our villages and surrounding area.

HOLLOWELL STEAM REPORT

Glossy traction engines, vintage roadsters, and a fleet of the finest farmyard machinery in the county gathered at this year’s Hollowell Steam Rally.

People far and wide came to celebrate the steam engine, and to peruse the many fairground stalls that pitched up in Hollowell’s top field: Waxed jackets were bought, ducks were a-hooked, and ferrets were raced. Whistles hooted, horses neighed, Land Rovers roared, and brass bands trumpeted – all together, a merry harmony of noise.

And if the sights and sounds were not enough, the flavours of the rally were also charming: One could partake in the English classics – a hog roast, or some beer-battered cod – or could choose from a more exotic menu of Thai noodles or peri-peri chicken.

On Sunday, the short spells of rain were a minor inconvenience to the festivities. But after a trip to the beer tent and a pint of ale from the local Potbelly brewery, spirits were soon lifted and bodies were quickly warmed.

At the top of the Ferris wheel that Sunday afternoon, this writer could focus on the centrepiece of the rally, as a parade of road locomotives were chugging through the stage field at that point.

Moreover, summiting that faintly frightening contraption, as the wind wobbled my carriage, I could take in the full spectrum of the event – from the stationary MGs on one side to the exposed engines on the other. Because the view stretched as far as the reservoir, I could also see the wider village that hosted. It was a jolly sight to behold, just as it was a jolly event to attend.

HOLLOWELL STEAM & WHISTLE SKITTLES NIGHT

Did you know? For table skittles in Northamptonshire, the throwing distance is 10 feet, but if you find yourself playing the game in Leicester or Rugby it is 9 feet! Such rules did not appear to influence ‘The Village People’, a hastily arranged table skittles team, that took part in the annual Hollowell Table Skittles championship, as part of the regular Village Hall pop-up pub nights.

Crowned 2025 champions in an enjoyable night of local chat, drinks and nibbles ‘The Village People’ held off stiff competition from the ‘Cheese Gromit’ team in order to secure their hands on the coveted skittles trophy! A sincere thank you to everyone who joined our regular pub night which helps to raise funds for an important part of Hollowell, the Village Hall.

Who will be crowned champions in 2026? You'd best get practising……

HOLLOWELL POLLUTION INCIDENT

In early June, Hollowell resident, Nick Mount, was crossing Stowe Brook on the Creaton Road when he realised from the niff in the air that raw sewage was running out of a storm drain straight into the stream.  

The situation was reported to Anglian Water and within 2 hours a pollution team was on site.  Chemical tests confirmed a high level of raw sewage in the brook.  

Regular readers of the Village Link will recall from previous articles about Hollowell Sewage Works that effluent from Guilsborough, Cold Ashby,  Thornby,  Coton,  Teeton and Highfield Park has been processed here in Hollowell since the 1930s.  Most of the “contributions” from the surrounding villages arrive in Hollowell at the top of Church Hill, so the hunt was on to discover how raw effluent was leaking out of the sewer and into the road drains.

 A tanker was brought onto the bridge, on Creaton Road, to suck out the sewage and stop it getting into the brook and after a prolonged period of testing the storm drains for traces of ammonia, the Anglian Water

pollution detectives installed a second tanker at the junction of Spring Close.  A section of pipe could then be cleared of sludge to allow the insertion of a camera and from there it was discovered that the sewer pipe was cracked and leaking into the road drainage system.

 A temporary liner was installed, but further work will be required in July to dig underground and open up the pipework for a more permanent repair to be carried out.

Nick Mount was delighted with the Water Company’s speedy and thorough response,

“Given the increasingly degraded state of our rivers and streams and the publicity around the damaging role that sewage pollution is having on river health, it is good to see Anglian Water reacting so quickly to this incident. It is a reminder that, when we see or smell something that doesn't seem quite right in our environment, it is worth acting quickly to prevent serious damage that can take ecosystems years to recover from."