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Welcome to the Cragend Farm blog, where we try to keep you up to date with what is going on on the farm, the B&B, self-catering cottage and anything else we get up to.
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There are accommodation, historical and nature entries cataloguing what has happened in the past.
You can dip into a specific area of interest for example, farming, or Accommodation simply click on the title and open up the blog entry.

 

 

Cragside and Lord William Armstrong  Magician of the North    There have been many books written about Lord Armstrong over the years: Henrietta Heald 'William Armstrong Magician of the North' ISBN 978-1-9047944-9-3 2010 Page 130 "Tumbleton Lake was formed by damming Debdon Burn lower down, creating a head of water to serve the pump house of 1866, where pumps driven by a ...

Cragside National Trust  Cragside visitor guide 1992 reads as follows:  "ESTATE FARMS: At Cragend Farm a stone walled silo was constructed for silage making. It consists of a central tower between two cement-rendered tanks with a corrugated wrought iron roof. A hydraulic jigger in the tower was used to raise and lower circular 1 ton weights which compressed the silage in th ...

Cragend Grange, Rothbury, Near Cragside, Northumberland NE65 7XN 01669-621533 Cragend Grange is a family home, with two Bed and Breakfast rooms for visitors to our beautiful county of Northumberland.  Please the book now button and we look forward to seeing you soon.              We are not The Cragg Estate Hexham, bur further north, nearer Alnwick and Bamburgh. ...

We have started running our historic tours and if you need some help deciding if you want to come along take a look at these comments from a recent group. Booking through  Historic Houses Invitation to View   website:  "Thank you for opening up your home to us and giving us the most enjoyable history and engineering tour we have ever had! We were all in awe of the work you ...

Cragside Cragside is a National Trust property in Rothbury Northumberland. Open to the public nearly every day of the year it is a great base for days out when visiting us as there are so many areas to investigate: The House and its beautiful Victorian interiors  The Engineering The Gardens The Lakes The Trees The Crags The Carriagedrives The Cragend Farm wit ...

Cragend Farm is opening its gates for 2 more one day visits to walk the new tree trail that has been created over the past 15 years. With a collection of specimen trees planted by Lord Armstrong of Cragside (now a National Trust property since 1970’s) and newer plantations and ‘The Great Northumberland Forest’ additions, Cragend Farm is offering the opportunity to see parts of ...

Relax Restore Revive The wisteria is nearly out, the flag irises are unfurling and the sunshine is warming everything up. Time for a relaxing break here with us to restore your inner self. Booking direct is easy with card payment using our book now button so come and see us for a short break and enjoy Northumberland and all it has to offer. ...

ICOMOS-UK Heritage Photography Competition 2026: Images of Industrial Heritage We are looking for photographers to take amazing photo of our industrial heritage and send them in to this competition:  Click the title for the link . The second in our series of photography competitions that celebrate built and living heritage around the world, from different perspectives. ‘Im ...

Explore the layered heritage of Cragend Farm, from its origins as a Celtic camp to a restored Victorian farmstead. This event introduces both agricultural and industrial archaeology, highlighting Lord Armstrong’s hydraulic machinery, excavated on site, which once drove threshing, milling, and daily farm operations. Through guided exploration, discover how centuries of farming ...

EVENT:  TOUR TALK at Cragend Farm Monday 8th J une 2026  An exciting opportunity to join acclaimed author Henrietta Heald, for a fascinating talk bringing history vividly to life.  Her acclaimed biography exploring North East Inventor Lord William Armstrong tells how this brilliant visionary and engineer behind Northumberland eco-home, Cragside, became the world’s first hydro ...

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to your fantastic farm on the Historic Houses tour on Tuesday. We both agree that it was the most interesting HHA visit we have ever done - and we have done many over the years! We had no idea of the extent of the Armstrong connection or what you have there, having visited Cragside on so many occasions in the past 50 years or so. And indeed looked down on the farm from the walks at Cragend quite recently. We particularly enjoyed ascending and descending the ladders to look at the hydraulic equipment and get an idea of how it all functioned, the beautiful and unusual buildings which had housed the cattle, and were intrigued by the contents of your "underground " loo! Peacocks and chicks, hens and a beautiful pet lamb added to the feel of the farm.

Shaun & Lou Renwick are keen to harness the farm's natural resources, using wood to heat their water, to cook with on a wood burning range, and to heat the houses on the Farm. Even if your house is not equipped to totally run on wood there are things you can do to make sure you are using the best quality wood for your fires.

Why use Seasoned Wood?

Seasoned wood is a definition for 'wood drying'. About 5% of the energy of the log is wasted through evaporation and heating the water vapour of damp logs.

Moisture effects the burning process with unburnt hydrocarbons going up the chimney, which can in time create 'sooting' in the chimney, with the possibility of a chimney fire, all of which requires specialist sweeping.

Drying the wood before burning reduces moisture content in the wood before it is used for burning,

Air drying is the most traditional method, and it takes time. usually over and above 2 years! The fire will use less energy to burn the log if the water content is below 20%. Therefore is can give OUT more energy in the form of heat!

Cragend Farm endeavours to provide their customers with the best seasoned wood possible.

if you would like further information on the process of burning wood please contact us and we will be happy to help.

Why seasoned wood?

Thank you so much Lou and Shaun for a great holiday break on your farm at Cragend last week. East Cottage was a super place to stay. Very comfortable accommodation with everything we needed for self-catering and situated next to the beautiful Cragside National Trust gardens. It was super for our dog with fields to walk across as well as a secure fenced place for her to run off lead! Such interesting history too about the farm and how you have restored the buildings, the Victorian silo and so much else of the past farming life at Cragend. We look forward to returning! J&M Nottingham.

Award Winning Accommodation