‘Windiest’ windmill spins 100,000 times a year

By Charlie Fenton

A working flour mill has been ranked Britain's "windiest" windmill after spinning almost 100,000 times in a year.

Wicken Windmill near Soham, in Cambridgeshire, took the title as the country's busiest windmill following the end of the annual international Windmill Whirl-Off competition.

Wicken finished 7th out of a possible 21 places in the event - which includes mills from across Germany and Netherlands - but had the most spins out of any UK-based with 98,847.

The next closest was Upminster in East London, which finished in 11th place with 50,239.

The winner is the windmill which has completed the most sail revolutions in the space of a year.

Revolutions are tracked in real time using a sophisticated telemetry system that uses magnets and an activation switch.

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The 2025 winner was De Roos in the Netherlands, which tracked over 403,000 spins.

Dave Pearce, 77, a Millwright and Miller, said: “The results from the competition have been a real eye-opener.

"We always knew that we operated the mill very frequently but it was quite a surprise to see that we almost achieved 100,000 revolutions in 2025.

"We are off to a good start with our intention to do even better and reach over 100,000 in 2026."

For the 2026 competition they are currently in 3rd place with almost 7,000 rotations.

The mill was built in 1813 and worked for over a century before its closure in 1933.

It sat dormant until it was restored in 1987 by millwrights from the Wicken Windmill Partnership.

It currently produces flour, which is sold across the UK.