I took old Growler and Nye along with me to stay in Longbarrow Windmill, which is situated in a field a few miles from Torquay.
We were very excited as we went through the front door.
On the ground floor we found a kitchen and a comfy sofa.
We climbed the stairs to the first floor….
…. and found the bedroom.
The windmill has very thick walls. We climbed up and looked out the bedroom window.
After another flight of stairs we found the bathroom.
The last flight of stairs up to the top was very steep for bears with short legs.
We made it to the top where there are wonderful views all around.
There was a newspaper article on the wall which included a photo of Long Barrow Windmill before the current owners bought it and converted it to a holiday home. There wasn’t much left of it in 1999!
While we were at the top of the windmill on several occasions we saw house martins flying around, they seemed to be looking in the windows.
Growler & Nye enjoyed reading a book all about Devon windmills.
At the top of the windmill it is possible to see the sun set on one side and rise on the other.
Here we are watching the sun set over Dartmoor.
We got up very early the following day to see the sun rise over Torbay.
It was a misty morning and the fields looked as though they were full of fluffy cottonwool.
We went out into the field to get a closer look…
Here we are with the sun rising behind us.
On our last day the humans went out walking so we decided to have a teddy bear’s picnic sat outside in the sunshine.
A splendid place indeed for a picnic…
We were sad to leave but felt very happy to have experienced staying in a windmill.
For more information about staying at Long Barrow windmill see:
http://www.devonwindmills.co.uk
Other windmills I have visited:
Bembridge Windmill https://horacethealresfordbear.com/2017/04/26/bembridge-windmill-isle-of-wight/
Ashton Windmill https://horacethealresfordbear.com/2023/05/20/ashton-windmill/
Horace the Alresford Bear 19/9/2023
After showing National Trust membership cards to a man in a hut I bought a souvenir guidebook.
I had a good look at the top of the windmill, where there is a big wheel and a wooden screw called a ‘Worm Screw’. There used to be chains that hung down and the miller would have used the chains to turn the the top of the mill, known as ‘The Cap’ to face the wind.
I also had a good look at the four wooden frames (before posing for a photo by the door). The frames would have been covered in canvas sailcloth, and a small boy known as a ‘Nipper’ had the job of climbing out onto the frames to attach the cloth. I don’t think I would want to be a nipper.
Once inside the windmill I set about climbing up to the top. This took me quite a while.
At the top there was a trap door. I was a tad worried that it might suddenly open up so I decided not to walk over it. Sacks of grain used to be hoisted up through the trap door.
Grain would have been tipped out of the sacks into this huge wooden bin. The grain then traveled downwards through canvas chutes to the hopper above the mill stones on the floor below.
There was an enormous wooden wheel with an iron band around the outside; known as ‘The Great Brake Wheel’. The miller would have applied the brake by pulling on a rope (which was attached to a lever) which was passed down on the outside of the mill. The Great Brake Wheel was used to slow down or stop ‘The Wallower’ (the horizontal wheel) which drove the upright shaft. 
I carefully went back down the wooden ladder to ‘The Stone Floor’ where the millstones are housed. I got a bit distracted here as there were some windows, so I climbed up to have a closer look at the sail frames.
One of my humans took a photo of me from the outside!
The next floor down is ‘The Machine Floor’, with the huge upright shaft which takes power from ‘The Wallower’ at the top of the mill to the great spur wheel. Here I am sitting on the leather belting drive having a good look at everything.
Downstairs there are two millstones that make me look like I am even smaller than I am.
There were also some weights which were impossible for me to lift.
I climbed onto the scales but they didn’t even move. This must mean that I haven’t eaten too many cakes yet.
On the ground floor I was pleased to find some miller style clothing for people and bears to try on. I rather like the hat but I am not sure about the smock, it was a tad large.
Before leaving the mill I had a go at milling some grain using some small bear sized millstones.
Horace the Alresford Bear 