Moulin de Raire, France: Guided Tour of a Working Windmill Since 1555
Moulin de Raire, near Sallertaine, Vendee, France is a working windmill that has been in continuous operation since 1555 and still mill flour to this day.
As a great tourist attraction, this windmill is fantastic; and makes for a great afternoon out as part of a day trip sightseeing while on holiday in the Vendee near Noirmourtier Island. The guided tour should have only taken an hour but the guides (father and son who run the mill) insisted on explaining everything in English (as they re-demonstrated how things work) specifically for the benefit of me and my son, so the whole tour took two hours, during which time the French tourist (about a dozen) were all very patient as the guides re-explained everything in English.
This video clip is in French because I was too busy paying attention to the guides when they were explaining the workings of the windmill in English i.e. not wishing to appear inconsiderate as I and my son were the only audience at those points of the tour. Nevertheless, with the ‘text’ inserts the video is generally self-explanatory and does give a general overview, if not fine details e.g. that the windmill requires a minimum wind speed of 10mph to work, and during storms where the winds may become too fast the sails need to be fastened down and chained to the building.