Simon Cooper

Tales from The Mill

Simon Cooper is one of the UK’s leading chalk stream conservationists. He runs a company called Fishing Breaks, hosting courses and tours from April to October at Nether Wallop Mill, in the heart of Hampshire. A beautiful thatched cabin overlooking a gin-clear trout lake beckons to budding fishermen and nature enthusiasts.

About Tales from the Mill

I have opened my gates to one of England’s most enchanting landscapes to bring together my journals and observations from living, working and restoring Nether Wallop.

Nether Wallop Mill is an ancient water mill in rural Hampshire that predates the Domesday Book. I weave together natural history, memoir and community life and demonstrates how this rare river habitat is increasingly under threat.

Structured around the four seasons, Tales from The Mill poignantly follows the rhythms of weather and water, the daily arrival and disappearance of wild residents, and the challenges of being the custodian of a rare chalk stream and the thousand-year-old mill it powers. I first heard about the ‘run down’ mill from a friend and undertaking a two-year restoration project that stretched far longer and cost more than anticipated. The mill, which is surrounded by water on all sides, is accompanied by the noise of pounding water, which has become the soundtrack of my life.

Praise for Tales from the Mill

I loved the gentle flow of the book

BBC Countryfile

Simon’s love for the mill he has so carefully restored shines through every page. His passion for the surrounding waters and wildlife brings this corner of the world vividly to life.

Paul Whitehouse