The Mill stands on small wooded island, with ash, sycamore, oak, wych elm and hawthorn trees. The river runs on one side and the disused navigation channel, once used by boats to get around the weir, on the other. It is part of the River Derwent Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), designated for its rich diversity of plant and animal life. Above and below the weir are beds of water crowfoot, teeming with invertebrates eaten by fish and birds. Otters were re-introduced to the river in the mid-1980s and can occasionally be spotted from the island. Look carefully and you may glimpse the blue flash of a kingfisher as it flies along the river; grey wagtail is another water bird that is often seen.