Latest News
From Herne Mill
Christmas Lights at the Mill
December 2021
This year we saw some extra decorations light up the Mill during the festive period.
Our volunteers did an amazing job bringing joy to all those that walked past the Mill during December with spectacular lights . . . and an added visit from Father Christmas, who stood on the reefing stage of Herne Mill - keeping an eye on everyone from the top of the hill!
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We hope everyone was able to have a lovely Christmas and New Year - we look forward to seeing you throughout 2022!
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Halloween at Herne Mill 2021
October 2021
We would like to say a huge thank you to all our spooky visitors at Halloween for your support and generous donations.
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So many of you came along to make Herne Mill one of your Trick or Treat stops, we loved having you - you all looked fantastic!
Thank you!
Open Season 2021
Thank you so much to all our visitors throughout 2021!
We know our open season was shorter than normal, but we loved having you at Herne Mill!
We have our fingers crossed we can welcome you even more throughout 2022, and hope that we are able to see some restoration work begin (along with lots of fundraising to help aid the huge project ahead!)
Teddy Bear Zip Wire
September 2021
For every teddy that ever there was,
would gather at Herne Mill because,
today’s the day the teddy bears do their zip wire!
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We were thrilled to welcome visitors back with their teddies, enjoying a ride down the zip wire.
This year we moved the zip wire position, and it was brilliant - over 200 teddies made their way up the mill and zipped down to their owners!
We thank you all again for your support, attendance and enthusiasm at this fun event - we look forward to another next year!
Halloween Outside Herne Mill
October 2020
Although 2020 has seen a stop to any visits and events that we would normally like to run for restoration fundraising, we joined in the community fun for Halloween!
We are incredibly grateful for another spooky donation made by Wahl (UK) Ltd . . . our new Pumpkin Scarecrow figure!
It was a wonderful addition to make this years decoration spooktacular, and everyone enjoyed walking past and taking photographs.
We also got featured on ITV Meridian news on the 30th October, along with the local residents talking about the amazing work they put in to create a walk and pumpkin trail to enjoy Halloween safely.
Check out the article and video via the below button:
Herne Mill Gets A New Coat
September 2020
The 8th September saw the return of a cherry picker in the grounds of Herne Mill.
This was a welcome visit from the wonderful Millwright Tim Whiting and his team again, this time to give the Mill a well needed new coat of tar.
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The Friends of Herne Mill are thrilled that the mill is now ready for winter - and looking so beautiful (even with its missing parts at the moment!)
A Different View
May 2020
You may have noticed on the 18th May, the ground of our local landmark was home to a lorry hiab, cherry picker and contractor van for a few days.
This day marked the start of a sad but exciting time for Herne Mill, as lots of restoration work is needed to get the mill safe and back to full health again.
After sustaining damage to the shutters in the sweeps and winding gear, along with concerns about the integrity of the stocks that support the sweeps, and some of the timbers below the fan stage, work began to remove parts of the mill to enable assessment of repair work needed.
Millwright Tim Whiting and his team did an amazing job dismantling the external elements of Herne Mill (not easy in the scorching sun we had that week!)
After a few days, Herne Mill was left looking very bare indeed! The shutters, sweeps, stocks, fantail blades, striking gear, purchase when and spindle below the fan stage were removed, and this left the site safe again for our volunteers and community wardens.
Even though there is no firm date of when we will see Herne Mill back to its best, we eagerly await the positive repair work to begin and look forward to further news from Kent County Council.