Monday 17 March 2014

A Wonderful Windmill

Hello Lovelies,
yesterday was gloriously mild and sunny. We have been soooo lucky with these March weekends up until now.
I had to make a trip to the city of Nottingham, but as soon as my errand was done I asked eldest (my only companion on this trip ) if he would mind a short Windmill visit.
When we arrived the cloud was building slightly but the Mill still looked glorious.......


I really like this old building. Windmills are beautiful in my eyes...........


It's many years since we last visited , and when my boys were very young we only peeped inside the ground floor as there just seemed to be too many hazards to make it a good idea to go any further.
But Eldest and I now had the perfect opportunity to have a proper look around.

This is a working mill ( though sadly they are not milling at the moment as two of  the sails need urgent repairs ) and it's such an interesting place.........


I loved looking at all the milling equipment, like these old weighing scales...........

 

The stairs are really steep and eldest counted six sets of them, going up and up......



Past huge mill stones.........



 Till we were almost at the very top of the tower. I was so happy that you could open this window and take in the view, thought it was very windy up here..............


And this is the view. Are you surprised it's in such an urban area ?


 The reason it's survived when all other mills in the city have been lost is it's link to a gifted mathematician and scientist. You probably haven't heard of George Green but there is a short summary of his interesting  life HERE  (Click on "about George Green" at  the top of the page)

Looking down from the open window the building you can see is a small but engaging science centre, dedicated to his memory. It's got lots of hands on exhibits and is great for families............



Back inside the tower I loved all the natural wood and white painted walls.........



everything had a coating of flour dust including the trap doors that are used to move the grain around........



This is the view from a window on the opposite side of the tower. I like this aspect over the neat brick terraces and out towards the countryside............


I really hope the funding  to get this lovely windmill producing flour again is sorted out soon.


 Yesterday it looked magnificent though it has had mixed fortunes over the years which you can read about HERE (Click on" about the windmill" at the top of the page )


If you are in the U.K. and fancy a windmill visit in your area I came across THIS list of places to visit around the country.

And if you are visiting Nottingham any time I recommend Green's Mill and  Science Centre. It's a wonderful place and free to visit.
Jacquie x

Edited to Add.....Thank you for your lovely comments on this post.....I do wonder if my love of windmills started HERE....Windy Miller was my favourite character in Camberwick Green :0)

22 comments:

  1. What a wonderful place, and a beautiful sky. I hope they get it fixed and going again. xx

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  2. I ADORE windmills, and such a beautiful one here. I hope they manage to get the funding to get the mill going again.

    Have a super week,

    Vanessa xxx

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  3. That's a wonderful windmill, I've never seen one in person, but I'd love to... thanks for sharing your photos, hope you'll have a nice week! ; )

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  4. Thank you for sharing this little tour of the Windmill. It is one of the things I miss from Europe. Since I was a little girl I just loved Windmills and we went to Holland a lot to look at the tulip fields and the Windmills. How nice to be reminded.

    Wishing you a wonderful week,
    Erika

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  5. I love windmills. This is awesome. Thank you for the tour. :)

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  6. I do love a windmill, I'm so lucky to be able to see one from our house.
    Clare xx

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  7. I love windmills too - and that sky just looks magnificent! Thanks for all the links and for the name of the mill you visited. It's not too far a drive from where we live :o)

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  8. What beautiful pictures - although I must admit the one where you are looking straight down made me feel slightly giddy! The clouds yesterday were beautiful - we kept oohing and aahing at them - and they set off the windmill perfectly! I remember visiting a mill as a youngster and buying a small 'sack' of flour as a souvenir - not sure what happened to it but it was certainly too special to use. Let's hope this mill can start turning again soon x Jane

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  9. What an interesting place to visit. That first picture is beautiful - are you going to a drawing from it?

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  10. Beautiful. I love windmills, although we don't have any out here in the NW United States that I know about. I grew up in Iowa and we did have a few windmills there that I enjoyed visiting. I hope they get this one working very soon.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  11. While I love the look of windmills, too, I have never toured one as you did, Jacquie. Thanks for taking the time and effort to produce this post. It is extra-special! Bob's Red Mill is a brand and company nearby here in Oregon, but so different from your mill! http://www.bobsredmill.com/Tour-Our-World-Headquarters.html

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  12. Thank you for sharing, this looks great! I home ed two of my boys and we are always looking for fun (preferably free!) places to go when we tag along with hubby to work. Next time he is in Nottingham we will pop by here it looks great!

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  13. Thanks again for the great photo's. I just took some photo's of the windmill in our village last week too, but I didn't have time to blog about it.

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  14. I love windmills - and we have plenty close by. Your first photo is stunning - the colours, the sky. Brilliant. x

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  15. What a great post Jacquie, thanks so much for sharing all your lovely pics and information - I do hope they get the funding to get things going again - it would be a sad loss, if not!
    That is one gorgeous sky too! Joy x

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  16. They are just beautiful. Imagine if they could be repurposed to produce power. People could live in them. It could be brilliant. :)
    Love the photos.

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  17. Loved seeing the windmill through your eyes.
    Jacqui

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  18. What a coincidence Jacquie - I've taken several photos of windmills when I've been out on my runs recently!

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  19. I love a good windmill too and oast houses with their funny roofs, maybe because I grew up in kent?
    Bestest Daisy j x
    PS. So pleased you bought the skt pattern, its a good one and so useful, waiting in anticipation to see your dress post...
    Do shout if you ever need any sewing help??

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  20. Oh! I love windmills! Thanks for sharing it. We have a working mill here, but it's powered by water, and such a treat and treasure to see and still have, with the modern age and 'out with the old' that seems to be the norm sadly, here in the States. A true treasure you have there!

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  21. Your well-documented visit to the windmill reminds me of the Netherlands which is where my family is from. It is fantastic that it is still being used for its original purpose. Thank you also for the links with further information about that particular mill. Yes, I was surprised that it was in such an urban area. Thank you for showing us your part of the world so well through your excellent photographs and descriptions.

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  22. I have never seen a working windmill before. And we do have a lot of windmills in Denmark.

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