Who may like the Mill?
Romantics - The large master bedroom, with luxury en-suite bathroom, leads into a four storey conservatory. The rocking chairs on the top level have views of the bay, Papa Westray on one side and the hills, fields and Loch of Saintear on the other. It is fine to sit here amongst the flowers with a glass of wine and put the world to rights, or if you are staying when the northern lights are in the sky why not take a mattress under the glass roof and watch the display, or even just the stars.
Families - The Mill is exciting, different, and big. There is an excellent play park and football pitch a few minutes walk down the road. A safe shore on the bay is just 65 metres away.
The roads are quiet: ideal for cycling and walking. There is a DVD and video player. The garden is large with ponds and plenty of space to run about.
Groups of Friends - The Mill is set up and equipped for 7 people. Book the mill together with the cottage at a concessionary rate, and it will sleep up to eleven people.
Those who especially enjoy fresh sea food and a proper bakery - The Pierowall Hotel (5 minutes walk) is renowned for its fish and chips. Once we went with friends in February and there were 12 different kinds of fresh fish on the menu.
Alternatively, You can buy both home bakes and fine baking from the islands bakery at the three general stores.
Fresh crab and lobsters can be bought locally.
Artists - The light is excellent in Orkney and under the glass roof, of course, is perfect for you to work. We have easels, a potter wheel, drafting table, spinning wheels etc. available to borrow if you require them.
Our collection of local craft, original paintings, prints and photos of Orkney, and by Orcadian artists, is steadily growing.
The Craft and Heritage trail to galleries and studios on the island is also growing; several new artists have recently moved here.
Architects - Many architects are choosing to visit Westray for the interesting selection of vernacular buildings (some restored, some not). The Mill and Cottage achieved a Civic Trust award in 2003.
Those interested in Sustainable Energy - Westray has the aspiration to generate as much power as we use by 2012 - from renewable energy.
The Mill and Cottage have a Green Tourism Gold award and we won Vibes Small Business of the Year in 2003.
Bio-diesel is legally and locally made from Orkney waste chip oil just up the road. If you would like to try out our car which has run on it for 40,000 miles please ask.
The mill is heated (March to November) by passive solar heat from under the glass roof. This is drawn using a thermostatically controlled fan (recycled of course) along a duct in the attic, down to the ground floor to re-circulate warmth and the scent of flowers throughout the mill.
The cottage is heated by an air source heat pump.
Nature Lovers -There are birds by the hundred thousand, flower meadows in abundance. Otters pass within feet of the mill, we often hear them in the winter and sometimes see them in the summer. Swallows and wrens nest in the small mill and the wheel house; there are trout and eels in the mill pond; common seals are usually in the bay from October until about Christmas.
Weddings - The mill and the garden are often used for wedding photos, small receptions and occasionally the wedding itself. The couples are invited to carve their names under the stairs. There are first class caterers on the island, professional photographers who enjoy visiting Westray and who know the mill; and a wide range of visitor accommodation.
Walkers - There is a network of walks and an accompanying leaflet for Westray. It is possible to walk a different circular walk each day for nearly a week
