Historic Woodbridge icon Woodbridge Tide Mill reopens to visitors from the weekend July 4 and 5. Find out how to get your pre-booked ticket here
Woodbridge’s iconic Tide Mill Museum has re-opened to visitors on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with measures in places to ensure visitors and staff are safe.
The Mill has acquired the Industry Standard ‘Good To Go’ mark which means that it has followed government and industry COVID-19 guidelines, has a Risk Assessment in place and a process to maintain cleanliness and aid social distancing.
It will be a welcome step on the road to normality for the Tide Mill which relies on visitors’ entrance fees and purchases to survive, and, like many of Suffolk’s attractions, has been severely hit by lockdown.
But the mill hasn’t been idle over the past couple of months. The wheels have been turning since mid May when the team restarted milling. A great deal of effort was spent making sure the processes were fully compliant with all the guidance associated with working whilst the pandemic exists.
A small team of younger volunteers led by mill managers Dan Tarrant-Willis and Ian Gray has done a great job with more than two tonnes of grain being milled and the resulting flour distributed to the mill’s customers.
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The mill also used the time to undertake a major external redecoration of the building, a project overseen by Nigel Barratt and Tim Buxbaum. It started in mid-May and is now complete, and has drawn a lot of positive comment.
Visitor numbers at the Tide Mill will be limited to pre-booked time-slots which can be purchased via the website at www.woodbridgetidemill.org.uk or directly from www.ticketgun.com/events/woodbridge-tide-mill-re-opening The mill has produced a revised visiotr’s guide which can be found on the website or at https://tinyurl.com/millopen Woodbridge Tide Mill is one of only two tide mills in the country still producing stoneground wholemeal flour. The current mill is 220 years old but the earliest known mill on the same site was built in the 12th century. It is managed and maintained by volunteers, dedicated to sustaining this wonderful example of a bygone age. It is a popular visitor attraction and educational resource and continues to produce genuine stoneground flour.
