On Tuesday July 2nd, 32 members of the Out and About group enjoyed an excellent day out at Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Country Park.
Starting out from Southport, we managed to overcome the confusion of our normal Don Fraser team arriving to collect a different (non Southport u3a) group, for a trip to Chester.
Jo had done a great job of organising our arrival; we were greeted by one of the National Trust team, given an overview of where to find things, provided with our passes and ‘Apprentice House’ visit tickets, then set loose to enjoy ourselves. There was even a buggy arranged for those who wanted it.
The five floor mill on its own could easily take all day to view, with lots of information and live demonstrations available, not to mention the various engines. Combined with the Apprentice House tour, the stories gave a really good idea of what life must have been like for the children brought to work in the mill. It also shows how bad the workhouses must have been, that many apprentices considered it to be a better life. During one demonstration, two of the weaving machines were started and the noise was incredible. Considering there would be have been dozens operating simultaneously when the mill was operational, it’s no wonder the workers developed a mime language!
As well as the mill and Apprentice House, the Mill Owner’s House is open to the public and there are extensive outdoor areas to wander around too. There is also Styal Village, which grew up in connection with the mill. There is so much to see, I doubt any of us got around everything. Definitely a place worth going back to.
Thanks from everyone to Jo, for such a good job of organising the outing.
