Thousands attend steampunk festival in Lincoln

One of the main themes of the festival is to be courteous and splendid

More than 2,000 people have taken part in an annual steampunk event in Lincolnshire.

The three-day festival, known as The Asylum, attracts people wearing pseudo-Victorian costumes.

It is held in the grounds of Lincoln Castle and surrounding historic buildings.

Steampunk has been described as "nostalgia for what never was" and draws on a wide variety of influences from HG Wells to comics.

Many of those attending make their own costumes

A number of outfits are given a steampunk twist by adding clockwork or steam power

The area around Lincoln Castle is one of the places where many of the festival-goers gather

Organisers said the event appealed to all ages and people from all over the world - with an emphasis on having fun

The festival features a number of events, including Whacky Races - Victorian styled go karts.

Participants can also be seen hurling "polite" abuse at each other as they meet near the city's castle.

Organisers said steampunk takes the Victorian aesthetic and technology, and puts it into a future setting.

However, they said the main purpose of the event was to have fun.

Although weapons are widely carried by people at the event, most disputes are settled with a tea duelling contest - who can keep a dunked biscuit in the tea the longest

Tea duelling has too many rules to mention - but basically involves the participants successfully dunking biscuits in tea - should a dunker suffer a crisis of confidence and withdraw before the duel then their second should step into the breach

The festival also features a costume parade, with medals awarded for imagination, quality of workmanship, creativity and execution

Dogs are welcome too

One festival-goer attended in a motorhome - complete with customised steampunk-inspired decor

Other forms of transport were also in evidence at the festival

Goggles are essential for many steampunks - a way of protecting eyes from all the steam-powered machinery in operation

Other events taking place in Lincoln include the Mad Hatters Tea Party - in which people have to drink tea as they are asked to move around a room and introduce themselves to fellow steampunkers

The Asylum Steampunk Festival runs from 26-29 August 2016