Welcome to Acorn Bank Watermill

Winter 2023

Acorn Bank Watermill is now closed for the winter, we will be opening for the 2024 season in March 2024. We will then be open every Weekend and Bank Holidays between about 11:00am and 3:00pm until Acorn Bank closes in the autumn.

We have had two main projects last winter. In November we re-dressed our millstones with the assistance of a master mill wright. This should mean that we can make more flour. We have also rebuilt the viewing platform for the mill, a huge job for our maintenance volunteers to achieve, especially with the cold weather we had over the winter.

If you want to buy our Acorn Bank Stoneground Wholemeal Flour when we are closed it is available from the visitor welcome hut at Acorn Bank and from our local shops - Nature's Health in Penrith, Kirkby Thore Post Office and Stores and Stainton Village Shop.

The Acorn Bank Watermill Trust

The watermill at Acorn Bank has been restored into a working state by a group of National Trust volunteers over the last thirteen years. In 2019 the mill was running regularly every weekend and grinding flour which was sold to visitors. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the National Trust to re-evaluate the operation of many of its properties including Acorn Bank.

The Acorn Bank Watermill Trust has been set up by the mill volunteers to continue to maintain and run the mill and keep it open for visitors to Acorn Bank. The mill buildings will be open to visit on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays when the Acorn Bank garden is open. Entry to the mill is free but access is through the National Trust Acorn Bank garden for which charges apply. Opening times for Acorn Bank can be found from the National Trust website, use the National Trust link on this page to find out when Acorn Bank is open. Find out about the progress we are making towards reopening the mill and when we are milling again by checking our Facebook page. The blog records the work that has been carried out over the years by a small group of dedicated volunteers.