Saturday morning the sun was streaming though the window and we were all more than ready for a day out after being cooped up with illness all week. W still have a few places we haven't visited from our explorer pass which allows us entry to miseams in Lancashire, so we decided to visit Helmshore textile museum, secretly i was hoping for some spinning or at the very least some thing woolly related.
After a quick stop at the supermarket to get some snacks, as its not cheap taking four kids out for the day and buying dinner and tea out as well, we set off. Its always nice to drive out into the countryside, it always feels like escaping in a way but i am not really sure what from. I had my crocheting and was busy making little quick and easy granny squares for a new project. As we neared our destination we saw the hills in the distance sprinkled with snow and as we got closer to them it started snowing as we passed over the hills, it was strange as on the other side of them there was no snow to be seen anywhere.
We arrived to the sun shining and despite Paul's sat nav taking us up a route that was clearly not meant for cars, it had been a really pleasant car journey. We had our mini picnic in the car and took in our surroundings. Ewan has a real thirst for information and questions on mills started almost immediately, i love having little chats about history with Ewan and i enjoy how much it interest him, it reminds me of going on long walks with my dad when i was a kid and he would tell me about the history of things around and the Romans. I was telling Ewan about my nana who started working in the mill when she was 12, i would really like to find out which mill she worked in, so perhaps thats a challenge for me at some point.
Once inside we looked around and saw massive carding machines and they had bags of raw cotton and wool as over times it had been both a wool and cotton spinning mill. It was again very family friendly and there was plenty for the kids to see and do. We went to see a demonstration of the massive spinning machines and the noise that just one made was so loud, i can't imagine what it would have been like to work in one.
There was an exhibition of photos inside by a photographer who has gone around the country photographing derelict and abandoned mills, i love images like that they are so surreal, abandoned bits of equipment and machines ling around with trees growing up through them. I wonder why theses buildings are just left to rot, when they are generally solid building and could be converted into other things.
My favorite bit was a room dedicated to hand spinning and as well as displays of all types of spinning wheels and looms they had drop spindles for people to have a go of, which i did and was okay at as i have two spindles one i bought at Yarndale and another that Paul got me from Spin city for Chistmas.
They even had a spinning wheel that you could have a go on and as a spinning wheel is on my wish list i did spend rather a lot of time there!!!!oops
Its such a shame i have no pictures for this post, think i will have to bin the SD card and use another.
It was nice to get out and about, now its nearly Easter a lot of places of interest are starting to re-open so i foresee lots more lovely days our
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