THE TOWN MILL
 LYME REGIS

Dorset, England
 

Making Contact. The mill's educational service is provided by specialist volunteers, most of whom are also volunteer millers, led by our Visits Coordinator, Phil Whitehead. If you wish to arrange a visit, the first step is to contact Phil. You can reach him direct by telephone (07545 922612) or by e-mail (creativepractice@me.com), or through our part-time Mill Manager and Mill Administrator (telephone: 01297 443579/info@townmill.org.uk ).

Prior booking is essential. It enables us to arrange volunteer guides and to ensure through discussion with the visit organiser that the programme is tailored to the particular interests and needs of the visiting group.

RISK ASSESSMENT. For advice on Risk Assessment for your visit,
click here.

Physical Disabilities. The Town Mill is spread over three floors with no lift and several short flights of stairs. Thus access is difficult for people with mobility problems. However, the waterwheel and some of the mill machinery can be seen from a viewing area on the ground floor.

Toilet Facilities. These are very limited at the mill. Public facilities are available opposite the coach drop-off point at the bottom of Broad Street.

Getting to the Mill. There are no public parking facilities at the mill and the nearby streets are too narrow for coaches. However, the normal coach dropping off point at the bus stop by the seafront at the bottom of Broad Street is only a few minutes walk away. For more details see our location page.

Numbers. We offer guided visits for groups of up to 25 pupils at a time, plus appropriate numbers of teachers and adult supervisors/assistants. Groups must include at least one teacher from the visiting school and have the statutory adult:pupil ratio appropriate to the age group.

Timing. While the pattern of a visit is adapted to the age of the pupils and the requirements of the school, we have found over the years that a one hour visit is very tight; if you cannot devote at least that amount of time to a mill visit, it might be wise to re-think your plans. We ask schools, if at all possible, not to plan on starting a visit before 11:00am, but this can be negotiated if it is a serious constraint.

Charges. School groups pay a rate of £1.00 per pupil; supervising adults are free. We normally ask for payment at the time of the visit, either in cash or by cheque payable to 'The Town Mill Trust'. We will give you a receipt. If this is not practicable for you, we can invoice you after the visit: but we prefer to avoid such paperwork.

Pre-Visits. For schools that have not visited us before, we recommend, in addition to discussing plans with our Visits Coordinator, that the school's organiser makes a prior visit to the mill. Experience has shown that such visits aid planning in relation to the group's needs.  

Risk Assessments. To help teachers in preparing their Risk Assessment for a visit, we offer outline guidance notes.  To download the notes in PDF format, click here.

Supervision. The discipline, safety and general behaviour of all groups is the responsibility of the teacher in charge, who must remain with the group at all times. 

Numbers. The Town Mill offers visits for groups of from 10 to 35 adults. 

Charges.  Groups are offered a special rate of £2.25 per person for pre-booked groups of  ten or more. Payment can be made on arrival or on subsequent invoice, as arranged when making the booking.

Pre-Visits. It is recommended that the group's visit co-ordinator makes a prior visit, by arrangement, to the mill. In addition to clarifying the purpose of the visit, it enables leaders to plan parking, access, refreshment facilities, possible issues for those with mobility problems, and the like.  

The Visit. In addition to seeing how the watermill works, our emphasis for adult group visits is normally given to the archaeology and extensively documented history of the Town Mill.

For some reasonably-local adult groups, we can arrange for an appropriate speaker to visit you at one of your regular events to talk about whichever aspect of the Town Mill is of particular interest to you. This can be a stand-alone session or linked to a previous or subsequent visit to the mill.

The Mill Gift Shop in the main mill building sells a range of souvenirs, toys, preserves and biscuits. 

Two Art Galleries in the former mill bakery offer regularly-changing free art exhibitions. A Picture-framer works, and takes commissions, above the galleries.

On the fresh food side, a Cheesemonger occupies the old wagon store, whilst a Tea and Dining Room, serving English food and refreshments all day, is a few steps from the mill entrance.

Previous school visitors to the Town Mill, particularly those on extended field trips in the area, have included  Lyme Regis Museum, the Aquarium, Dinosaurland, the Lifeboat Station and Charmouth Heritage Centre within their daily programmes. The Town Mill is particularly happy to participate in co-ordinated visits with such organisations. 

The Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage site, extends from Exmouth in East Devon to Swanage on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset.  Lyme Regis is one of the site's Gateway Towns. This spectacular ninety-five miles of coastline was granted World Heritage status in 2001 because of its superb geology and its extensive range and quantity of fossils.

The rest of Lyme Regis also has much to offer school and group visitors. Attractions range from the famous Cobb wall at the harbour, through examples of historic architecture, to numerous important historical and literary associations with the town. Find out more on the official Lyme Regis Tourism  website and on the website of the award-winning Lyme Regis Museum.

Groups planning to stay in the local area can find up to date details of available accommodation on the local websites listed on our web links page.

Year-round accommodation for up to 200 students is also available at Woodberry Down in Lyme Regis.