Upminster Windmill © Richard Dunn CC BY SA 2.0

1. Brixton Windmill, London 

Did you know that London still has a working windmill? For National Mills Weekend, Brixton Windmill is offering guided walks and tours so you can learn more about this key part of local history. You can also pick up a treat in the café and shop. 

Open Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 May, 1 - 5pm. Free entry. 

2. Upminster Windmill, London  

This fully repaired windmill will be up and running (weather conditions allowing!) and you’ll also be able to look around the visitor centre and garden. 

Open Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 May, 10am - 4pm. Adults £6, children £2. 

3. Willesborough Windmill, Kent  

Visit this working windmill for a guided tour to learn how the mill works and see the millers’ kitchen and parlour, as well as a collection of milling and agricultural artifacts. Children can have a go at making some flour using quern stones and there’s a tearoom, too. 

Open Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 May, 2-5pm with the last tour at 4pm. Adults £5, children £2.50.  

4. White Mill, Sandwich, Kent 

This is a great time to explore White Mill as it’s undergoing extensive renovation to return the mill to working order. Visit to see the progress, talk to the skilled volunteers, and explore the fascinating Rural Heritage Museum. The gardens and barn will host craft stalls, food stalls and entertainment over the whole weekend, making this a fun family day out.  

Open Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 May, 10am - 4pm. Free entry. 

5. Redbournbury Watermill, Hertfordshire 

Explore a thousand years of milling history at the last working mill on the river Ver. On the Saturday morning, the bakery will be open selling a large variety of artisanal bread and flour, while on the Sunday afternoon you’ll be able to see milling and the Crossley Oil Engine in working order.  

Open Saturday 11 May, 9am - 1pm and Sunday 12 May, 1 - 4.30pm. Free entry. 

6. Mill Green Mill and Museum, Hatfield, Hertfordshire 

This 18th-century working watermill is pulling out all the stops for National Mills Weekend. Take a tour with an expert miller, watch a sourdough bread demonstration from a local artisan baker, and find out who has won the Mill Green Flour bake-off competition. There will be plenty of opportunities for children to get hands-on, including trying out quern stones to grind some grain into flour, bun baking workshops, and more. 

Open Sunday 12 May, 12 - 4pm. Free entry. 

7. Pann Mill, Buckinghamshire 

Visit Pann Mill to see live demonstrations of traditional milling using locally grown wheat. This watermill is one of six mentioned in the Domesday book in the town of High Wycombe and is the last working mill of over 30 on the River Wye. There will be tea, books and stalls. 

Open Sunday 12 May, 11am - 5pm. Free entry. 

8. Ford End Watermill, Buckinghamshire  

Ford End Watermill is a lovely example of a small farm 19th century corn mill, with the unusual feature of a sheep wash in the tailrace below the mill. Visit on National Mills Weekend to see the team milling stoneground wholemeal flour, which you can buy to take home. 

Open Sunday 12 May, 2 - 5pm. Entry £5, under-16s go free. 

9. Combe Mill, Oxfordshire 

Combe Mill is a late 19th century Grade II listed steam and watermill which used to be the workshop for the Blenheim Estate. Watch demonstrations at the restored on-site blacksmith forge and find out all about the mill from knowledgeable volunteers. 

Open Sunday 12 May, 10.30am - 3.30pm. Entry £5, children go free. 

10. Wheatley Windmill, Oxfordshire 

Wheatley Windmill, with its octagonal stone tower and a rotating cap, still has much of the original machinery inside. Visit to see inside and watch live milling demonstrations on a unique Victorian mobile milling machine. There will be live music with the Wheatley Singers at 3pm, as well as tea, coffee and cakes. You’ll get to see the sails turning if weather permits. 

Open Sunday 12 May, 11am - 6pm. Free entry. 

11. Chinnor Windmill, Oxfordshire 

Come along to Chinnor Windmill and see how they’re getting on with their ongoing repair work. This six-footed post mill was bulldozed in 1967 but has now been substantially externally rebuilt by volunteers. They’re now turning their attention to the internal mechanisms and machinery. The mill aims to eventually make wind-powered bread rolls on-site. Volunteers will be on hand to give personalised tours of their handiwork and the mill's history. 

Open Sunday 12 May, 12 - 5pm. Free entry. 

12. Windmill Hill Windmill, East Sussex

This charmingly named post mill is the largest in the UK. It’s been fully repaired, with new sweeps fitted just last year to make the mill operational again. Join for a fun-filled day of mill tours, Morris dancers, live music and food. 

Open Sunday 12 May, 12 - 5pm. Free entry. 

13.  Whitchurch Silk Mill, Hampshire

Learn all about the engineering history and recent conservation of this Grade II* Regency watermill from industrial heritage expert Nigel Spender. You’ll hear all about craftspeople that have worked at and on the watermill throughout its history, from the skilled silk weavers of the past to the conservation craftspeople and millwrights of the present. 

Open Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 May, 10.30am - 5pm. Entry £9. 

Other mills to visit in the South and Southeast of England 

Rottingdean Mill © Nicole via Adobe

Wimbledon Windmill Museum, London. Go on a free tour and enjoy a community fun day especially for National Mills Weekend. Open Sunday 12 May. Free entry.  

House Mill, London. Visit the largest tide mill in the world. Open Sunday 12 May, 11am - 4pm. Entry £10. 

Cranbrook Union Windmill, Kent. Visit the tallest smock mill in England. Open Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 May, 2.30 - 5pm. Free entry. 

Drapers Windmill, Kent. Visit a working windmill in Margate. Open Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 May, 12-4pm. Free entry. (donations welcome).

Nutley Windmill, East Sussex. Visit the oldest windmill in Sussex. West Kent Amateur Radio Society (HAMS) will be transmitting all weekend and making contact with mills around the world. Open Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 May, 2.30 - 5.30pm. 

Rottingdean Mill, East Sussex. Visit this dramatically sited mill, perched on the cliffs between Brighton and Rottingdean. Open Sunday 12 May, 2 - 4.30pm. Free entry. 

Polegate Windmill, East Sussex. Visit the mill museum and watch the Morris dancers. Open Sunday 12 May, 11am - 4pm. Free entry. 

Oldland Windmill, West Sussex. Visit this fully restored and working Sussex post mill dating back to around 1703. Open Sunday 12 May, 2pm - 5pm. Free entry, donations welcome.  

Burton Mill, West Sussex. Watch water-powered stone ground flour milling at this working mill, and check out other working machinery on site, and learn about the mill’s history. Open Sunday 12 May, 11 - 4pm. Free entry.  

Ford End Watermill, Bedfordshire. Visit the mill and buy fresh stoneground wholemeal flour. Open Sunday 12 May, 2pm - 4.30pm. Adults £5, children go free. 

Hockley Mill, Hampshire. Go on a free guided tour with members of the Hampshire Mills Group. Open Sunday 12 May, 11am - 4pm. Free entry. 

Great Haseley Windmill, Oxfordshire. Watch the sails turn (wind permitting!). Open Sunday 12 May, 2pm - 5pm. Entry £3. 

Header image: Upminster Windmill © Richard Dunn CC By SA 2.0