Now the leaves are falling we are certainly into Autumn. Looking back on the Summer months and trying to accept the traumas of Foot and Mouth it has been a reasonable year. Visitors are increasing, so this will help to maintain our credit levels and grants are starting to come to us for a pond extension and Alternative Energy.

Our “Heritage Weekend” was a great success, with Tynedale Spinners and Weavers well represented and a lot of interest shown by visitors in what they were doing. Donald Gunn came to site, with Keith, one of his students, to show visitors the skills of Dry Stone Walling, and they kindly rebuilt one of the terrace walls during Heritage Weekend.

One of the above mentioned grants is from “Just Heritage” and we hope to expand our Mill Pond creating some more islands, linked by footbridges and display one of our mill artefacts with an interpretation board on each island. The second grant is related to “People’s Places” and we are hoping to receive a grant for Alternative Technology, with a pump back system, powered by a Fan Type Windmill to a pond holding water at a higher level, the stored water driving a Pelton wheel coupled to an alternator.

We have received planning permission for our garden shed on the allotment and we are slowly clearing the unwanted mill pieces to long term storage, this will tidy up the mill floor for a more scenic display.

We now have on the Mill balcony a permanent display of water wheels by Simon Smith and his pupils from Kells Lane Primary School with National Curriculum Coursework.

Various donations have been received during the past quarter, a Post Vice from John Thirlwell at Stanhope, this needs two people to carry it! We have had an Australian Palm which Ben and I dug up from Molly Dale’s garden in Morpeth, this is planted on the terrace behind the Mill dam and seems to be settling in very well. We had a lot of plants from Christine McHatton, in her “garden clearout” some of these now make a nice border to our entrance and car park. We have had more trees and shrubs from Heather and Len Redmayne at Stella Bank, Ryton and these have been planted around our boundaries, and will enhance us in the Spring with colour in our hedges.

Special mention must be made of a gift from Mrs Thompson of Monkseaton who came to see us and offered us a beautiful lathe and milling machine, these cherished and valuable items are not on show at Path Head, but are being installed in our workshop, where they will be put to good use, in making collets and pins for the many pulleys, which are involved in current and future developments.

Trevor, October 2001