We left Liverpool in uncertain weather at elevenish, and travelling through Stockton Heath and Lymm joined the motorway to avoid Altrincham, and arrived nicely in time for our picnic lunch on the Meadow field at Styal Mill.
There is no picnic site as such, but there are several benches near the car park, and the Meadow field would have been most unsuitable for a picnic had not one of the two benches been free. But as it was we sat within the sound of the weir, watching the bright sunshine on the wet grass, enjoying a variety of trees looking very beautiful against a backdrop of dark, black clouds.
There are three suggested walks that can take you round the Styal estate, and adjoining the courtyard there are toilets two cafes, and a National Trust shop. We chose rather to concentrate on the Mill, with it being our first visit, and it proved a very rewarding experience.
The Mill Museum must be the best place to learn about Cotton & the industrial revolution. If you have ever struggled to understand why the spinning jenny was so important, or wanted to see a flying shuttle in action, then this is the place to come. There are demonstrators on hand to demonstrate carding and spinning and weaving as a cottage industry, and the same processes using the machines from the nineteenth century. You can take home pieces of carded cotton, and as well as looms there is a section looking at dyes and dyeing, and the children brought home a sample of their own tie-dye handiwork.
There are also sections on social history, including a trip round the apprentice house, which we left for another time, and a big section looking at power, with its centre piece the massive, working, 30ft breast shot water wheel, as well as steam engines, and hands on exhibits.
I do have a criticism, and that is that there was too much. You had to go round it all in order, and there were no refreshments until after you had finished the complete tour. We chose to take the guided tour available during August, but the demonstrators probably would have been sufficient, and in the end we had to leave the guide behind and go at our own, slightly faster pace. Next time we will pay attention to the last section, on power, as we were really not in a state to do it justice by the time we reached it.
It helps being members of the National Trust, as we do not feel we have to get our moneys' worth out of every visit. We enjoyed a welcome, if expensive drink and cake at the cafe, and sauntered up to the apprentice house and enjoyed their kitchen garden, in what had become a very pleasant afternoon.
On the way home we saw a plane come into land as we went passed Manchester airport, and stopped for a brief walk beside the Mere at Lymm
Mike Pendray
6 August 2001