And I thought Stanley Mills was a 1950s British actor

by - 11:25 on 14 March 2008

The problem with spending your life supplying information on Scotland is that you can get a bit smug and think you’ve seen it all. Well, here’s a confession. I’ve just been to Stanley for the first time. Perhaps that’s because of its location. It’s north of Perth but east of the A9, often called the ‘Highland Road’. But it’s not far enough east to be on the A93 for Blairgowrie and Braemar – a kind of back door road to the Highlands as well. Instead, Stanley sits in the wedge between these two main routes. I don’t mean to say negative things about Stanley, but you have to want to go there to find the place – and now there is a really good reason for going. Thirteen years after the complex came into their care, Historic Scotland are opening Stanley Mills to visitors. 

If you already know your Scottish visitor attractions, then the experience is a little like visiting, say, Verdant Works, Sensation (both Dundee) and New Lanark all at once. There’s a fast running river and massive blocks of mill buildings by the bank. It’s full of ghosts and echoes. For generations of workers it occupied much of their world.

Huge water-wheels (now, sadly, gone) formerly powered cotton spinning machines. Originally, every operation within the works depended on the belts, pulleys, gears and levers that fed the power from the revolving wheel. The mills, in various forms, lasted until 1989 and then sank into dereliction. Today it’s different The complex now houses displays, interactives, exhibits and video footage that tell the story of how, in 1786, a local duke, two entrepreneurs and a consultant got together and harnessed the River Tay, which one of the display boards tell us is the most powerful river in Scotland.

So, out of the decay, a post-industrial leisure and education interactive happening has been created – which is a long way of saying that it’s very hands-on for families. There are wheels to turn, little model sluices to open, buttons to push and skill games to play with bobbins and threads. In fact, on first impressions, visiting children might be forgiven for imagining that working in a cotton mill was a lot of fun, instead of being grim, boring, dangerous and exploitative, at least in the 19th century. (I’m sure the resident education officer will keep them right.)

An important part of Scotland’s industrial heritage has been restored and packaged for the 21st century visitor, with all the bolt-on experiences that make for a really rewarding day out for all ages.

Full information, opening times, prices on www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/properties_sites_detail.htm

 

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