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The Mill
 Tucked away on the "Hidden Road" south of Balmaclellan is Ironmacannie Mill, believed to be one of the oldest corn and flour watermills in the South of Scotland. The mill was powered by water from the Shirmers Burn and was used by all the tenanted farms on the Kenmure Castle Estate from the early 1600's. It was used commercially until the 1940's, but thereafter fell slowly into disrepair. Then in the 1990's, it was converted into a dwelling house with much of the Mill machinery still in situ.
 Retiring into the Mill in 1998, the increasing cost of oil, electricity, and hardwood logs, plus their real concern with Global Warming, encouraged the Masons to adapt the existing infrastructure to produce green hydro electricity. The weir half a mile up the Shirmers Burn, the lade from it to the large millpond and the roadside lade to the 14ft overshot ironcast waterwheel, were all in reasonable repair. The large waterwheel, while in full working order, was rather noisy and the bearings were certainly not up to 24 hrs a day use. It was therefore decided to pipe the water down the side of the wheel to a burnside turbine and generator. Production averages 65 kws per day for at least 200 days a year — mainly during the winter, when of course the heating requirements for the Mill House are at their maximum.
Crichton Carbon Centre.
"The Masons have lovingly adapted their seventeenth century mill into an inspirational model for renewable technology. The water from the millpond, which originally would have powered the waterwheel, has been diverted to power a new micro-hydro turbine. 110 litres of water a second rushes down a 6 metre drop, activating the generator which produces electricity to contribute towards the needs of the household."
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