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We are in modern day terms, Cragend Farm. On Cragend Hill. However, if you go back in history we were Craig End or Craigend or Cragend , and Black Bank was the large set of Crags behind the settlement as well as being Cragend Hill. ...

Shaun Renwick is owner of Cragend Farm; a working rare-breeds farm, country holiday destination, and plantation wood of just over 40 acres in Northumberland.   In 2012 over 1000 mixed deciduous trees, including alder, rowan, beech and oak were planted, and a Scots Pine stand of 10 new trees was planted in 2019 dedicated to the loved ones of people who live, and holiday in The ...

Well-loved Local Rothbury resident plants a dedication tree in April 2021.   Anthea Logan-Wood planted this Red oak tree on Sunday in the sunshine. She is a well known and loved Rothbury resident. As a child, she was evacuated to Cragend Farm during the Second World War, and her family stay is part of the history at Cragend Farm.  Her ties to Rothbury and Cragend Farm are stro ...

Tree Dedication Celebrating 10 years  with 10 varieties of trees. Dedicate a tree in memory of a loved one and help save the environment. A memory or condolence dedication gift is a lovely way to retain memories of a loved one and makes a wonderful keepsake for the family to treasure, and for future generations. Our dedication trees all have registration passports, and ar ...

We have been replacing sub-standard fence post with more sturdy ones during the Covid Lockdown and the results are very pleasing on many levels. Our wildlife that are encouraged to take shelter in the hedgerows are better protected from predators. Our sheep, cattle and goats are now more securely fenced in which means they are now to be found in the field where they were le ...

Merry Christmas! 2019 has been an amazing year at Cragend Farm. Our holiday accommodation business is up and running and we now have a flock of Cheviot sheep and a small herd of Rare Breed Whitebred Shorthorn cattle to look after as well as our chickens, peacocks and dogs. Our new arrival, Dax, a Border Collie dog, is now 1 year old, and training to be our trusty sheep do ...

Our thanks to Marjorie Davy, who suggested we plant this - Cerinthe Major or Honeywort. The bees love it and it has the most beautiful delicate colour of green and blue grey in the garden. It is a Mediterranean plant originally and likes a sunny spot. ...

Whilst walking the dogs this morning i saw five deer quietly grazing in our field that borders The Cragside Estate near Cragend Quarry. ...

Rothbury Race Course History Horses would be loaded on to trains and travel via Newcastle Station to Brinkburn Station on the south side of the River Coquet, to be walked down the hill from West Raw and up to Cragend Farm, where they were stabled until their races at Rothbury Racecourse. The river changes every year but it is still possible to see where they would have cros ...

This is a Fritillary Small Copper butterfly. We found a small colony of them in the top field near the I-Spy rock. The Small Copper is usually seen in ones and twos, but in some years large numbers may be found at good sites. Males are territorial, often choosing a piece of bare ground or a stone on which to bask and await passing females. They behave aggressively towards any ...

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