Family Activities in the Lake District- Priests Mill


In search of a knitting shop, after my local store closed down, a woman recommended I try the Wool Clip at Priests Mill in Caldbeck. Rather than driving straight there and back with a fussy baby in tow we decided to make a day of it. 

Priests Mill is an old watermill built by a rector of Caldbeck on the riverbank just below the church where John Peel and the Beauty of Buttermere lie buried. It's in a secluded position and underwent a full restoration in 1986. The waterwheel has now been restored to working order. The 18th century house holds a restaurant and various craft and gift shops. They also have regular exhibitions throughout the year. 
The Watermill Cafe is open from 9am-5pm daily and the Wool Clip is open from 11am-4pm daily.

As it was lunchtime when we arrived we started at the watermill cafe. The cafe overlooks the river and has an assortment of homemade food cooked fresh from local ingredients. It was child friendly, had 4 highchairs and a wood burner keeping it nice and cozy inside. 

Before walking the dog we headed down to the Wool Clip for a little knitting instruction and to have a look at their gorgeous shop. The Wool Clip is a co-op run by 15 local women as a hobby and they have gorgeous yarn and crafts inside for everyone, including some adorable baby hats. 

Sampling the hand knit hats

After all this excitement, we braved the weather and headed our for a walk. We walked along the river and turned right to go over the bridge towards a row of houses (away from the church). After crossing over the bridge we turned right again where the road dead ends to traffic and we were on a bridleway making it an easy walk for families with small children. As the path goes through the woods it's not suitable for prams but there are large gates so it's perfectly fine for young children, dogs, and of course babies in carriers. Cyril had a great time bouncing around on my back watching Hobson dipping in and out of the river! We'll definitely be going back here in the future.




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