Golspie Mill
Golspie Mill is one of the very few remaining water mills still in operation in Scotland. First built in 1863 as an estate mill, it was fully restored in 1992 and has been producing specialist meals and flours using traditional methods ever since. Using the flow of water to turn a large wheel which transmits the energy generated through a series of cogs and gears that in turn drive the milling stones that grinds the grains and pulses into flours and meals.
The whole of the interior of the mill was covered in a blanket of flour that had steadily built up over the years creating a visually stunning atmosphere, this paired with the old machinery working away gave the impression that the mill was trapped in a time long past. The mill’s only source of power comes from the build up of the water in a weir, this means that the time the mill can be in operation is highly dependent on the weather and as such varies day to day. This leads to the mill only producing small batches but ensures that what is milled is of the highest quality.
One of the specialist meals milled at Golspie is peasemeal, which is made by roasting yellow field peas which are then ground through three sets of stones. A nearly forgotten meal, peasemeal has deep roots in Scottish food history and references to pease scones have been found in 18th texts. Peasemeal has become popular with cooks who are looking to reinvent Scottish cuisine by looking at traditional ingredients and using them in a modern context, one such use is using it like Italian polenta or American grits. Peasemeal production totally disappeared in the 1970’s until Golspie mill was restored by Fergus Morrison in the 1990’s where he began producing it again and remains the only mill in scotland to be doing so. Fergus eventually passed on his knowledge to Michael Shaw who continues to run the business with his family.