Ghosts at the Mill

As Halloween is almost upon us, I'm reminded that a couple of people have asked me recently whether Stretton Watermill is haunted.  Sometimes it seems a shame to disappoint people, but we really haven't heard any tales to suggest it is.

There are certainly plenty of folk tales of strange goings on in mills at night.  In the older tales it's the fairies grinding their corn at night and woe betide any mortal who disturbs them, as we approach more modern times the little folk become the ghosts that appear in the tales.  Perhaps it's all just a way to keep the curious away from the dangers of a watermill with the moving machinery and deep water.

Dave Maddocks, a much missed former miller at Stretton, told me how he was startled by a squirrel suddenly popping out by the pit wheel so that he tipped a sack of flour over himself.  When you think of that it's easy to imagine how someone passing a mill at twilight may have caught a glimpse of a white figure wandering around and imagined a spectre there. 

Not sure what to make of this shadowy figure in the mill...

So, as much as it might bring avid ghost hunters to the mill we can't really say that Stretton Watermill is haunted.  But if you want a really spooky ghost tour that will have you thinking and looking over your shoulder long afterwards, then you could do no better than to go on one of the ghost tours of Chester led by Tom Jones, one of Stretton's millers.

A Victorian Harvest Weekend

For a few years now we've marked the traditional harvest-time with a special event at the mill, especially as the end of September is when the watermill closes its doors to the general public for the autumn and winter, so we go out with a bit of a celebration. 

We'd collected apples from the trees at the mill and been given several crates by friends to press into gallons and gallons of juice.  It was more or less all drunk by the visitors and millers that weekend, none left over to make cider.

We churned cream to make butter and ate cakes made to Victorian harvest-time recipes.

A steady flow of visitors for guided tours kept the millstones busy throughout the day so we ended up with a few sacks of flour.

Thanks to the creative talents of Chris and Joan, and a fair few pieces of string to hold things together, a little Victorian parlour appeared inside a tent between the mill and the bywash.   They provided us with nineteenth century tunes all afternoon and the cheery melodies drifted around the mill giving just the right atmosphere for a harvest home.

The End of a Season

Well, this may be an odd way to start a new blog, today being the last day of 2011 that we've had a visit at Stretton Watermill, but hopefully we'll keep memories of this wonderful place alive through the winter months. 

It has been a great year for the mill and we've met lots of new friends along the way, along with some wonderful days catching up with lots of old, (well, long standing), friends too. 

Stretton Watermill is a lovely place.  The kind of place that you try to find reasons to return to.  We've been lucky to spend yet another year there, and with each visit learning more.  So, over the cold winter when we can't be there as much as we'd like, we'll hope to add some of our milling adventures, anecdotes and discoveries to this blog.