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| A trail to the Mill |
At a weekend there’s nothing a Museum worker likes more than a busman’s holiday! But this one was so interesting it deserved a spot on the energy gallery blog! The National Trusts Gibson Mill - a 19th-century cotton mill situated in Hardcastle Crags - is a fabulous ground-breaking project which has developed the Mill as a model of sustainable development, with minimum impact on its environment.
All the energy needed by the Mill to open to the public and function as a building is generated on-site, using renewable sources. It has no mains electricity, and isn't connected to mains water or sewers. In fact, as the charming guide told us, “the only outside service that Gibson Mill is connected to is the phone line.”
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| Gibson Mill - Copyright National Trust |
Energy at the Mill is created by water powered turbines (with battery storage capability), voltaic panels (the main source of electricity in the summer when the water level of the river is too low to drive the turbines), solar hot water panels and biomass from the surrounding woodland (to heat the café). Other green measures include; the use of low energy appliances (lights, fridge etc), maximisation of natural light, utilising a natural spring next to the Mill for drinking water, passing grey water produced through a ‘soakaway’ (clay pipes that help to naturally filter water through the soils before it reaches local groundwater) and installing composting toilets (yes, worms!).
But my particular favourite feature has to be the human powered lift! To combat the obstacle of no mains electricity, this lift uses a counter balance system of pulleys and weights whereby the operator can effortlessly pull visitors to the first floor and back down again.
Sustainability, green energy, dressing-up for the kids and miles of woodland for the dog! A great Green day out!
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