Weaver's Mill pond on the Painswick stream

I finally got out of the house at 5pm when I set off to get a parcel for Helena from the sorting office. There had just been a torrential rain and hail storm falling out of dense black clouds, which also produced thunder and lightning. But just as quickly the storm passed and the sun shone brightly from a blue sky.

I was pleased and somewhat relieved because I have finished an important document that is now ready to be submitted tomorrow, which will mark a notable turning point in a big project. There is just the group photo session to do late tomorrow afternoon to supply a picture for the press release which will be sent out on Saturday.

After picking up the parcel I thought I'd venture a short way up the Painswick valley from the sorting office to explore a small road which I have always observed but have never driven along. It drops down from the old turnpike road from Stroud to Painswick and crosses over the stream that flows down the three miles into Stroud. It is yet another important valley full of small mill buildings that made use of the water power to drive the cloth industry of the last few hundred years.

Where Pincot Lane crossed over the stream, I parked in the narrow lane next to Smalls Mill, which is now a plush residence with little evidence of its original role as an industrial building. A few yards upstream on the other side of the lane is Weaver's Mill where I noticed a collection of old grinding equipment and an old well housing in the front garden. This building was also rather beautifully appointed with wisteria flowers adorning its frontage. A Public Footpath sign pointed to a small alleyway beside the house which leads up the steep hillside. I walked a few yards up it and discovered a very rare grinding stone, set on a circular 'bowl' or receptacle, and attached to an overhead wooden harness in which a small pony or donkey would have been forced to walk round in circles to grind corn and other cereals. Sadly the wood was rotting rather badly but I have never seen one of these locally, just sitting outside in the elements. It should be in a museum.

I walked back to the lane and thought I heard the sound of water falling over a weir beside the road. I pushed my way through some bushes and discovered this scene of the old mill pond which has been formed by a small dam. It is now surrounded by overhanging trees and the flow is controlled by this wooden paddle which can be raised and lowered.

In the background you can see the garden that belongs to Weaver's Mill and now gives them a wonderful garden pond. I liked the reflections of the branches and various green foliage and the sky. I imagine that in a few weeks the foliage will be so thick that this view will be too dark to photograph, just now it looks beautiful.

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