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 ...
Frogs
We go to our wildlife pond nearly every day and see something new. Our boys had a friend to stay and we went for a walk there and saw hundreds on tiny frogs leaping about. The boys were amazed that there were so many. We are pleased that they all survived the cold winter as the spawn had been frozen, and also the heron and visiting geese who think tiny frogs are a tasty treat! ...
Easter Bunny
Look what we found on Easter Sunday when looking in the Potting Shed! This little rabbit is one of very few around this area at the moment and we let it go to hop back to its home. ...
Pondlife
Greylag Geese are visiting our wildlife pond at Cragend Farm. We have seen two pairs so far. ...
Mushrooms Part 2
The compost has been made with straw manure, chicken manure, blood, fish bone and gypsum. The grain spores of the White Button Mushrooms have been sown in the compost and newspaper has been laid over them to keep them moist for 2-3 weeks. ...
Mushrooms Part 1
Cragend Farm is embarking on a new harvest this year ... Mushrooms. We are trying to growing Shitake and Oyster mushrooms on logs. The sycamore trees in our wood had been marked for harvesting and so we cut a quantity down to use to grow mushrooms. Unlike when burning a log on a fire, you need fresh, wet logs and a dark space to store them in. We drilled holes in the logs a ...
Gardening
The garden is starting to come into bloom with snowdrops and aconites. Rotovating has been done with the frost doing a really great job of killing things in the soil this year we hope as its so cold. The peonies are now ready for their tentative emergence in late spring too. 'Felix Crousse' and 'Mothers Choice' are the varieties we have in our main bed. ...
Half-Term Holidays
Enjoy a relaxing stay at Cragend Farm at East Cottage (self catering accommodation) or in one of our Bed and Breakfast rooms in Cragend Grange. Book DIRECT or call us for further information. Short Breaks and longer stays available. Other websites may charge commission to sell you the same dates so book DIRECT! ...
Snow
We have had a few days of snow this winter so far. The animals are managing to find food and stay safe. We are warm thanks to our log burners and there are some fantastic hills for sledging on. With sledging history in the Renwick family we like to take full advantage and go out and have fun in the snow if we can. We wish the Team GB competitors in the Winter Olympics 2018 al ...
The Victorian Fernery
The Victorian Fernery has four new arrivals thanks to a great Christmas Present from a family friend. Athyrium niponicum var. pictum Athyrium filix-femina subsp. angustum f. rubellum: Lady in Red Dryopteris filix-mas: Cristata Biechnum brasiliense: Volcano (PBR) They are too sleepy at the moment to show their heads but will be beautiful by the autumn. ...
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 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.
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