On the threshold of a working weekend - turn back the clock at Stotfold Mill on Saturday and Sunday
A carthorse waiting outside Stotfold Mill as grain is delivered - Credit: Archant
It’s easy to forget that, not so long ago, rural life was much more closely related to the seasons of the year.
Grain being fed into the steam-driven thresher at Stotfold Water Mill - Credit: Archant
But at this weekend’s working steam event at Stotfold Watermill you can experience some of the sights and sounds that were once familiar in the wake of harvest.
Visitors will be able to see grain being delivered by horse-drawn carts, then threshed in a giant steam threshing machine.
The end product will then be driven to the mill to be ground into quality flour – and if you want to take some home with you, it will be on sale in the gift shop.
Other machines will demonstrate timber-cutting and steam ploughing, as well as the more familiar horse-drawn ploughing which was once a staple of country life for hundreds of years.
There will be a working display of a vintage cider press which dates back to Victorian times and is in the process of being restored, as well as a wide range of stalls featuring country crafts and foods.
Cider will also be a feature of the beer tent, where 16 cask ales and seven ciders will be on offer, and musicians including Round and Around, Luke Murphy-Wearmouth, Michael King, Nick Moyster and Becky Phillips will be keeping drinkers entertained.
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The mill will be open from 10.30am to 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday, and tickets are £4 for adults, £3 for senior citizens and children aged from four to 16, and there is no charge for children under four.
All funds raised will help support the historic mill and nature reserve, which won’t be open this weekend.
The bar will be open from 5pm to midnight on Friday, 11am to midnight on Saturday and 11am to 6pm on Sunday. There will be live music during these times and entry to the evening music events is free.
The mill is run entirely by volunteers – you can find out more about what they do, and what’s on offer at the Stotfold site, online at www.stotfoldmill.com.
