Bursledon Windmill

Hampshire's only working windmill

Visit this restored 'tower' mill. See and hear its wooden machinery turning.

The other buildings on the site: Chineham Barn, rescued from demolition, houses the ticket office and other visitor facilities. Hiltingbury granary, stores the grain. The pond, to water the farmers horses, has been re-dug in its original location.

Open every Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday - the Windmill Visit comprises a 9.5 minute film of the windmill grinding flour on a windy day, explaining how the machinery of the mill works and the other buildings on the site.

Followed by...

The Mill tour - All visitors are able to visit the ground floor or operations control room, however, a height restriction of 1.2m or over applies to those climbing above this floor. Please wear sensible footwear.
The Mill itself will be closed for lunch between 12.30pm and 1pm every Sunday, however, the rest of the site will still be open.

Then...

Try grinding flour by hand in the barn using the ancient saddle quern or the medieval rotary quern.

Every Tuesday and Wednesday of Hampshire school holidays we run family activity sessions from 2pm-3pm. These activity sessions do not include the Windmill Visit detailed above. Places on these sessions need to be booked in advance.

Booked Windmill Visits, as described above can be made for the mornings or afternoons of most Tuesdays and Wednesdays, except for the afternoons of Hampshire School Holidays.

NB Every Sunday or Bank Holiday Monday we intend that the sails will be turning either by the power of the wind or in very light winds with the help of staff pushing. We will not, however, be milling. Due to Health and Safety and other practical reasons we cannot mill and show visitors round the Windmill at the same time.

Nature at the Windmill

The pond contains a large variety of animal and insect life some of which are described on the information board. We also have two pairs of ducks who occasionally visit the pond.

The woodland next to the windmill is temporarily closed due to the condition of a number of its trees. It is a young woodland habitat supporting a wide range of wildlife including woodpeckers.