After spending the morning at Killerton we decided to drive a few minutes up the road to the village of Broadclyst where Clyston Mill is located. Broadclyst is about 5 miles from Exeter and appeared quaint and quiet when we visited.

The National Trust website directs you to park in the villages car park, which is free and then walk to the mill. This was only about a five minute walk – across the road and through the churchyard of Broadclyst Church. The church was beautiful and grand looking and we had a quick look round before continuing onto the mill.

When we reached Clyston Mill and entered, we were told by the National Trust volunteer that they were milling flour there today, and we could watch to see how it’s done. Clyston Mill one of the South West’s last remaining watermills and runs on water from the River Clyst.

There’s three different levels within the mill and you can see how the flour is produced and then packaged up to sell in the National Trust gift shops. There were two millers working with the flour and it was interesting to see all of the machinery moving and working. There’s plenty of written information about the mill and it’s history and you can look into the mill boy’s room and imagine what it would have been liked to have worked and stayed there overnight.

 

After looking around the mill you can pop outside and see the River Clyst and the waterwheel from the outside.

 

 

It didn’t take us too long to look around the mill, we were thee maybe half an hour, but it was nice to see and the exterior was beautiful with the ivy growing on the front of the building.