Another dreary and drizzly day, so we thought we’d go out for the morning. Some of our local National Trust places are closed for winter cleaning etc, but Quarry Bank Mill was open, so we decided to go there; it’s about 20 minutes drive away. We arrived a bit before the visitor reception was open, but as lots of the grounds are open to the public anyway, we went in and had our cards scanned at the entrance to the walled garden. Then we walked down a path with lots of steps to the River Bollin and the mill itself.
Inside the mill building there are all sorts of machine which still work. There are ones to card cotton and then turn it into thread, and weaving machines to produce cloth. There was hardly anyone about so the staff seemed delighted to start up some of the machines just for us.
Down on the lowest level of the mill is a massive water wheel which used to provide the power. And there are a couple of steam engines — not original to the mill, but similar to the ones used here when it was upgraded to steam. Again, the volunteers seemed delighted to have a reason to get the engines going.
We walked back up to the garden where there’s a nice cafe we don’t recall from last time we were here, and then returned to have a look at Quarry Bank House, where the owners lived when they weren’t at their home in Manchester.
It began to rain, so we just had a quick look at Styal village, where there were workers’ cottages, before heading back to the boat. This afternoon we’ve not done much, although Adrian has given me a pre-holiday haircut.