Towards the southern end of Kintyre, on the western side, the landscape changes and there is a broad, open sweep of fertile land. Tangy Mill was built in about 1820, probably on the site of an earlier mill, to serve the big arable farms here. It stands in beautiful remote surroundings on the north bank of the Tangy Burn, near the point where it enters the sea, and is made of harled whinstone with sandstone dressings. For our repairs we obtained more of this sandstone from the original quarry.

Because of the climate (which often merits extra layers of clothing) the grain, mostly oats, had to be dried before grinding, and there is a two-storey kiln with a big revolving ventilator, known as a ‘granny’, on its roof. Here the oats were spread six inches deep on the perforated iron floor of what is now one of the bedrooms. When we bought the mill, the dressing, drying, hoisting and grinding machinery, the stones and shutes and the backshot wheel, were still there; we have kept all this in position and amongst it you live and sleep. The atmosphere of old places of work is almost impossible to preserve, because one cannot preserve old workmen and old ways of life; but this mill was so complete and in such an unexpected place that here for once, changing as little as possible, we have attempted it.

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Sleeps: 6