Quarry Bank, lying in the Bollin Valley, overflows with the atmosphere of the Industrial Revolution. Experience life as a mill worker – a visit to the cotton mill, powered by Europe’s most powerful working waterwheel, will certainly stimulate your senses. The clatter of machinery and hiss of steam engines are astonishing. Take a tour of the Apprentice House, led by a costumed guide, and discover how – for food, clothing and lodgings – pauper children were expected to work in the mill. See the traditional vegetables, fruit and herbs still grown in the Apprentice House garden using organic methods and visit the recently opened three-hectare (eight-acre) ‘Secret Garden’ – the Greg family’s stunningly picturesque valley retreat adjoining the mill. Stroll to Styal village – built by the Greg family to house the mill workers and still a thriving community, with two chapels, allotments and cottages. Or walk through woods along the River Bollin.
Winner of Sandford Award 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002.
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