About Us

History

The farm, aquired from The King in 1331 by The Duke of Northumberland, of Alnwick Castle and Syon House, was rented out for many centuries until Lord Armstrong of Cragside bought it in 1860’s, as part of a grand scheme to create a Model Farm to showcase his prize cattle and innovative water powered hydraulic machinery that worked threshing machines and milling devices. 

Cragside Estate is now run by the National Trust and is on our doorstep.

There are two Turbines, a weighbridge and hydraulic Jig remain insitu on the farm. One of Lord Armstong’s hydraulic turbines was discovered below 4 feet of pig slurry and has provided a great deal of new information about the engineering of the Cragside Estate. An agricultural weighbridge bought by Armstrong from the 1871 Great Exhibition from H Pooley Ltd (now part of W&T Avery Ltd who manufacture scales and weighing machinery to this day) has been fully restored and is the only one Shaun and Lou can find of its kind remaining in the whole of the UK.

The iconic, Grade II* listed Silo, a much loved local landmark visible, has had its roof repaired. This building which has been judged by Historic England to be of national importance being one of only 4% of Listed buildings with such heritage. Updates on the progress of its conservation are on our blog.

Holiday Accommodation

East Cottage is a renovated Victorian workers cottage available for self-catering holidays in Northumberland. Being next door to Cragside means that history is right on the door step, as well as the beautiful countryside.

West Cottage, another farm workers cottage built by Lord Armstrong will be available soon for bookings.

The Armstrong Wing and The West Room are B&B rooms available at Cragend Grange, on the farm.

Prices and availability can be found on the B&B and Self-Catering pages of this website.

Payment is by BACS or cheque. Cash is accepted on site. 

Pedigree Whitebred Shorthorn Cattle

In June 2017 we started our herd of Rare Breed Pedigree Whitebred Shorthorn Cattle. We are hoping to extend our herd in 2018 and build up a Cragend line.

Pedigree Sheep

We have Park Type North Country Cheviot sheep grazing at Cragend Farm. They are originally a local breed, named after the high range of hills in Northumberland. We had our first lambing season in 2017 and now have 16 sheep.

Wildlife

The land around the farm buildings is receiving much needed love and attention for wildlife, like squirrels and deer. We have visiting geese at certain times of the year. The Black Burn flows to the east side of the boundary and is a vision of bluebells and primroses in Spring with wild garlic and watercress in profusion.

As part of the Wildlife Trust commitment to nature we are part of Wilder Northumberland: Cragend Farm.

Fishing

The banks of the River Coquet are very special for numerous reasons, the flora and fauna are exemplary, and the salmon and trout fishing are a treat only available to a special few. A sighting of a Kingfisher or an Otter can make a visit to Northumberland a memory forever. Cragend Farm has 1 ½ mile stretch of the north side of the Coquet available to visit on request if staying on the farm.

Grown In Britain

Our woodland The Coquetdale Plantation has had Grown in Britain status, which is promoting wood from tree to table. We have used our wood for making oak beams in the kitchen and as well as logs for woodburners, generating hot water and heat on the farm, we also make Cragend Candles a winter or summer delight for toasting a marshmallow or some outdoor cooking.

Reviews

Reviews are always welcome at Cragend Farm, as they help "surfing" and "Googling" holiday makers see how other guests feel about Northumberland and our Farm stay.

Thanks to GD for this one!

"An absolute amazing B&B with fabulous short and longer term stay options both catered and self catered. The site is on the original Cragside Estate and you are in a beautiful and well kept rural setting with ample options to explore, walk, nature watch, eat or just relax.
Lou and Shaun have renovated the rooms and buildings sympathetically maintaining old and quirky features whilst giving them elegance and modern comfort.
Every time I stay I feel like I am at home and the only down side is having to leave.
Tips for other travellers: Cragside National Trust offers a full day out that you can repeat time and time again. Nice local shops, crafts and cafes are available in Rothbury and other local villages and Alnwick is a short drive away offering an even greater choice of shops and restaurants with a fantastic addition of the Alnwick garden, the amazing treehouse restaurant (do book in advance) and pretty little seaside Jaunts.
Too many things to list but Shaun and Lou provide ample info in room and are more than happy to help and advise".

To book B&B or Self-catering accommodation use using the 'BOOK NOW' button.

Pedigree Goats

A new addition to Cragend Farm in 2020 is the rare breed of goat known as Bagot, is on the endangered list of pedigree English breeds and we have acquired a small herd in order to do some conservation grazing on our rougher ground and SSSI

Around and about us in Northumberland

Only 1 mile away is Cragside House, previously owned by Lord Armstrong, it has always been a popular tourist attraction with its stunning walks, formal gardens, fantastic scenery and a beautiful house that reflects one mans dreams and inventions. Originally part of the estate, Cragend Farm retians close links. We run tours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays most weeks. Booking required. 

No visit to Northumberland would be complete without a trip to Alnwick Castle and Alnwick Gardens. The Castle is owned by the Percy family and they still reside there, as the present Duke and Duchess of Northumberland.  Upon entering the Castle grounds, you can take a guided tour of the state rooms, play in the Knights Quest area or explore the extensive grounds around the Castle, and still experience the Harry Potter fun. Known as the "Windsor of the North" Alnwick Castle is famous for providing the location for the recent Harry Potter films and you are able to see the battlements and the opposing ramparts used in the scenes, as well as filming for other television and films, such as Downton Abbey.

Alnwick Gardens, created by Her Grace, the Duchess of Northumberland attracts visitor`s worldwide. Visit the ornamental garden with a large range of beautiful David Austin roses or take a tour of the Poison Gardens. For a meal with a difference, the unique Treehouse restaurant is well worth a visit.

 Fishing has always been a big attraction in Northumberland and much has been reported about the quality of fishing on the River Coquet and we have the fishing rights to the stretch of the Coquet that runs through our grounds. Owning 1.5 mile stretch we have 2 rods available. Please ask.

Kielder Reservoir is always a popular fishing hotspot. Situated deep in the heart of Kielder Forrest, this vast man-made lake is fabulous for both fishing and water sports.

Rothbury lies on the skirt of The Northumberland National Park whose dramatic hills and sheltered valleys stretch from Hadrian`s Wall to the Scottish Borders.

There is always plenty to see and do in and around the Northumberland National Park including bird watching, cycling, fell running, fishing, gardens to visit horse riding, painting, rock climbing, walking as well as a multitude of world class golf courses and the legendry Northumbrian coastline

The Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is among the finest landscape of the country. It was designated in 1958 and covers 39 miles of coast from Berwick to the Coquet Estuary.  Within this stretch of coastline is some of the most dramatic coastal scenery with 70 castles, sweeping sandy beaches, rolling dunes, high rocky cliffs and isolated islands.

Have a wonderful stay in Northumberland.

Privacy  Notice and T&Cs 

Cragend Farm Privacy and Security Policy

Summary

At Cragend Farm we take the security of our guests’ personal data very seriously and are committed to operating in an open and transparent manner and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including providing our guests with up-to-date information about our collection and use of personal data. We follow robust procedures to ensure that any personal information can only be accessed by authorised personnel, is kept in a secure environment and retained only for as long as it is needed, after which time it is disposed of securely.

Data Controller

Shaun Renwick

Types of data collected

Personal data may be collected in the form of: name, address, telephone number, email address and credit/debit card details. This data may be collected during the course of the enquiry, reservation or booking process. We do not actively or deliberately collect personal sensitive information e.g. age, sexual orientation or ethnicity, and we would never require these for any aspect of our business.

The use of data collected

Data is used for the following purposes: setting up a reservation, handling payments, contacting guests regarding their stay and advertising. We may use the data provided by you to periodically inform you by email of any news, special offers, cancellations or last minute availability. Data collected is used exclusively by Cragend Farm and its authorised partners. Data collected will not be passed on or sold to any other third parties.

Storage of data

Personal information will not be retained for longer than is necessary to satisfy the enquiry or booking.  Credit/debit card details given over the telephone or in person are kept for the time required to process a transaction or reservation and are securely destroyed immediately. Customer data can only be accessed by authorised personnel who are familiar with our security policy and practices. Personally Identifiable Information is only accessible to a limited number of qualified employees who are given a password in order to gain access to the information held electronically. Paper records are retained in locked cabinets and within secured office premises. All data stored is kept in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1988 and we audit our security systems and processes on a regular basis.

Anti-Virus protection

Our computer systems are continually protected and monitored by anti-virus software.

PCI compliance

Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance refers to the technical and operational standards that businesses follow to secure and protect credit card data provided by cardholders and transmitted through card processing transactions.  At Cragend Farm we ensure our PCI compliance using Wearetheworks to protect Cragend Farm from data theft and to achieve compliance with the PCI data security standard.

CARD payments

Card payments are processed using a PDQ Terminal and a secure link via the internet.  We do not take Credit/debit card details given over the telephone or in person.  Access to this information is restricted.

 INCIDENT HANDLING PROCEDURE

In the event of there being a security breach of data we will follow our Incident Handling Procedure:

The Data Controller will conduct an initial investigation of the suspected compromise immediately.  If compromise of information is confirmed we will:

 Ensure where possible that no further payment can be made through the affected channel.

Inform parties that may be affected (customer, merchant bank, third party booking/payment providers, credit card issuer, fraud control, law enforcement).

Document every decision and action taken.

COOKIES

Cookies are small parcels of data stored temporarily on your hard drive while you are browsing a website. These are a standard mechanism used by most websites. By continuing to use this website with cookies enabled, you consent to our use of cookies. Our website uses cookies to keep track of individual users as they progress through the on-line booking process. This is necessary in order to distinguish between users to keep your booking separate from other bookings. However, no personal information that would enable us to identify individuals is either obtained or stored in these cookies. We use a third party service provided by Google Analytics to provide us with further general information about the performance of our website. The data collected by Google is aggregated to show general trends and does not identify individual users. From time to time we may also use other third party services such as Facebook, Twitter and other social media, the presence of which will be readily apparent from their on-screen icons. In each case, any cookies set by the providers of these services are set by them directly. They are not set by our website and we have no control over them. Please refer to these services’ own privacy policies if you wish to check how they use cookies. Should you wish to disable cookies, please refer to your browser’s Help function. Please note however that disabling cookies will affect your ability to use our website, as the on-line booking system may not operate correctly without them. Many websites will not run correctly with cookies disabled, especially ones that require you to log in or that offer any form of checkout or booking process, as cookies are usually needed to keep track of individual transactions.

Accessing your data

You have the right to access your personal data and can opt out of receiving unsolicited information from us, or to update Personally Identifiable Information. You can do this by contacting the Data Controller in writing along with proof of ID.

Disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information to comply with the law

We will disclose Personally Identifiable Information in order to comply with a court order or summons or a request from a law enforcement agency to release information. We will also disclose Personally Identifiable Information when reasonably necessary to protect the safety of our guests.

Links

Our website contains links to other websites. Please note that when you click on one of these links, you are moving to another website. We encourage you to read the privacy statements of these linked sites as their privacy policies may differ from ours.

Changes to our Privacy AND SECURITY Policy

Any changes to our Privacy and Security Policy will be posted on our website.

June 2025 Cragend Farm . All rights reserved.

Unauthorised duplication or publication of any materials from this Site is expressly prohibited.

Cragend Farm Terms and Conditions

Booking and Payment

Payment of the deposit secures the booked dates (except for cheque payments, see below).  Bookings are not confirmed until guests receive confirmation from the online booking system that the reservation has been processed.

Online bookings

Online bookings require a non-refundable deposit of £100 of the total cost to be paid at the point of booking. The balance must be paid 4 weeks prior to the first day of the arranged stay.  A reminder email will prompt the payment of the balance but it is the responsibility of the guest to ensure this is paid in a timely manner.

 Telephone, email and postal bookings

 All bookings require a non-refundable  deposit of £100 of the total cost to be paid at the point of booking.

BACS is recommended, however, all major credit and debit cards are accepted and the transaction is processed upon receipt of the card number, expiry date, security code and address of the applicant. Bookings made by telephone or email with these details can pay the non-refundable  deposit of £100 of the total cost by card. Please note that we do not accept American Express.

Cheque payments take longer to process and your booking will only be secure when you receive a receipt from Cragend Farm.

 In all cases, the final  payment is due 4 weeks before the commencement of the stay.

Non-payment of the balance will be construed as cancellation of the booking.

The Proprietors reserve the right to alter the booking arrangements in the event of unforeseen circumstances. If cancellation by the proprietor is necessary the monies received shall be returned in full.

Arrival and Departure

Guests may arrive any time from 4.00 pm onwards, unless agreed otherwise prior to arrival.

Departure time is by 10.00 am.  Guests should leave the property tidy, load the dishwasher, empty all bins and turn the heating off prior to departure.  Keys should be returned to the key drop off point. 

The office hours are Monday  Friday from 10.30 am to 3.00 pm.  Telephone number: 01669621533. In emergencies please call 07798626868 on whatsapp

Changeover day is a Friday. 

We are open all year round and try to be as flexible as possible, however please note that arrivals  on different dates are not permitted without prior agreement

Changes to Booking

Up to 12 weeks before the start date of a visit it may be possible to alter a booking for which there will be an administration charge of £20.00.

Period of Hire

Our minimum tariff is 7 nights.  Weekly bookings are preferred but short breaks can be booked anytime except during EASTER, SUMMER and CHRISTMAS holiday periods.  Short stays during holiday periods can be arranged one month beforehand by contacting the office on01669621533.  Longer stays are welcomed.  Stays over one month could attract a discount – please contact us for details.

Details of Guests

The address and mobile telephone number of the guest who makes the booking is required.  If it is a company booking, the name and address of the lead visitor is required.

All guests under the age of 18 are required to be supervised by an adult for the duration of the stay.

Care of the Property

Guests shall keep the accommodation and all furniture and fittings in the same state of repair as at the commencement of the stay and shall leave the property in the same state of cleanliness and general order in which it was found.  Please inform us of any breakages for which a charge may be made at the owners discretion.

Guests using their own cleaning products will be liable for any damage incurred to furniture and fittings.  Products containing bleach should not be used on soft furnishings.

Smoking/Vaping

Smoking and vaping are not allowed in any property.

Your Safety

Guests are required to familiarise themselves with evacuation procedures in the event of an emergency – these are located on the Fire Assessment.

Candles are not permitted in any circumstances – guests must not bring, use or burn candles during their stay 

Guests are not permitted to bring their own portable heating or air conditioning appliances

PETS

Pets are not allowed on beds or furniture and owners are expected to follow our doggy house rules.  Any damage, staining or excessive cleaning will be chargeable.

LOST KEYS

Guests are responsible for the safekeeping of keys during their stay with us.  Lost keys will incur a charge of up to £200 as all locks/barrels in the property will need to be changed and a full set of keys cut.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING AND E-BIKES

There is access to electric vehicle (trickle charging only) on site at present on request. There is a sliding scale charge for this and can only be done with the Owner of the Properties permission.  In the event of it posing a fire and insurance risk we would not permit it.

There are plenty of local EV charge points available within a 10-20 minute drive – details available in the guest folder or on request.

It is not permitted to charge e-bikes or scooters/other battery operated bikes/buggies/vehicles or their batteries from any property in any way.   If you need e-bike batteries to be charged during your stay this can be done  with permission through the office by prior arrangement during office hours (Monday – Friday, 10.30 – 3.30).

Miscellaneous Conditions

We have a secure cycle storage room available. Guests using these facilities do so at their own risk.

Permission must be sought from the Proprietor prior to arranging any external services or activities on site (e.g. beauty treatments, external catering).

Only one guest bed per property is permitted – additional charges apply.

No fireworks or lanterns are permitted.

LIABILITY

The Proprietors shall not be liable for any loss, damage, injury, illness or infection of any kind to clients or any third parties during the stay.

The Proprietors shall not be liable for any inconvenience or otherwise as a result of loss of utilities due to weather or other circumstances beyond our control.  These instances are rare but rest assured we will do our best to communicate and assist where possible.

MAILING LIST

A mailing list of all guests is maintained so as to be able to inform visitors of any special offers, changes or improvements at Cragend Farm.

PRIVACY POLICY

Guests are required to agree to the Privacy Policy which occurs when they pay the deposit by default. 

CANCELLATION POLICY

We strongly recommend that guests take out their own travel insurance to cover them in the event of cancellation for any reason, including Coronavirus or any other infectious disease or illness.  

If you have to cancel your stay, please notify us as soon as possible and every effort will be made to re-let the property.  If we cannot re-let the property, the following will apply:

Up to 6 weeks before the start of the stay:   No refund of the deposit is paid back. 

Up to 4 weeks before the start of the stay:   Refund of 50% of all remaining monies paid excluding the deposit.

Within the period leading up to 3 weeks before the start date of the stay:   No monies shall be refunded. 

(Credit card refunds will be subject to a £10 administration fee to cover bank charges – this will be deducted from the refund amount paid).

C 2025 Cragend Farm.