Lou is the owner of Cragend Farm with her husband Shaun, and deals with everything from Holiday Accommodation inquiries to egg collection from the chickens; she is the social media and web design finger-tapper.
We are very proud to be licensed as a Grown In Britain Woodland Owner.
The Coquet Plantation is approximately 40 acres of mature and new trees, and we have an on going Woodland Management Plan in place.
We use our wood in a sustainable way to run our bio-mass boilers on the farm, and we sell logs for wood burners and fires locally.
"Grown in Britain is for anyone who values British trees, woods and forests, and the amazing wood and timber products we can make from them.
It is an incredibly positive movement designed to help create a sustainable wood culture that connects people, companies and organisations to our woods and forests and the important environment they provide for people, wildlife and a thriving economy.
With the passionate backing of government, industry and many other organisations, we are able to bring together a broad diversity of forest, woodland, societal, manufacturing and end-user interests to create a sustainable future for our woods and forests.
The Grown in Britain brand identifies wood that has been grown in Britain and assured through our all new licensing scheme. It is a proud mark that shows where that timber has come from and provides assurance that it doesn’t just come from Britain but that the forests and woods were managed to the government’s UK Forestry and public procurement standards." GIB Statement.
"Grown in Britain is a programme to create a new and stronger market pull for the array of products derived from our woodlands and forests, develop private sector funding and harness the positive energy and feelings towards our woodlands and forests." Forestry Commission statement.
It is a movement that is bringing together:
• environmentalists and woodland owners
• contractors, builders and retailers
• woodland managers, public and private agencies
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 seasoned wood?
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.
Find Out More About Cragend
Cragend Farm has a interesting and diverse history, from technical innovations to historic buildings. Tied in closely to the neighbouring Cragside Estate home of Victorian inventor and industrialist Lord Armstrong.