Whitchurch Silk Mill

A visit to Whitchurch Silk Mill takes you inside a working Georgian water-powered silk mill on Frog Island, where the River Test has turned the cast-iron waterwheel for over 200 years. Still weaving fine shot silk taffetas, twills and ribbons on its Victorian power looms, the mill's small team of weaver tacklers keeps an endangered craft alive, and visitors can watch them at work and explore the historic machinery - including a creel thought to be the only surviving example of its type still in use today. Families can follow the Mill Trail, feed the ducks beside the river and join seasonal trails such as the Halloween 'Trick, Treat and Create Trail' and the Elf on a Shelf Christmas Trail. The Riverside Cafe in the free-to-enter Welcome Building serves seasonal lunches, sweet treats and snacks with indoor and outdoor seating, and the Mill Shop sells silk woven on site. Children aged 6-17 get reduced tickets, under-6s go free, and a family ticket covers up to two adults and three children; tickets include free return visits for a whole year. The Mill is open Tuesday to Sunday and bank holidays, 10:30am-5pm (last entry 4pm), all year round, with free carer admission, a hearing loop, platform-lift access and SEN-friendly school visits.