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At Cragend Farm we have six Cattle Rubbing Stones. There are three on the top fields and three in the bottom fields. We were surprised to find out that they are relatively rare these days. Sadly one of them is sinking in a part of our SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) area in boggy ground but can still just be seen. It suggests that at the time of placing that area ...

Watch this space as our Rare Breed cattle the Whitebred Shorthorns are pregnant and due to give birth in May 2019! Also our Cheviot sheep are hopefully pregnant and we should see some little lambs in May too, as we have delayed the tupping process in the hope fo better weather for lambing that in 2018 . ...

Our new project for 2019 - a stand of Scots Pine trees. It has been in our mind for sometime to plant some Scots pine trees in our top field. It is one of the highest points on the farm at 326 feet. The Scots Pine is a fabulous tree. Latin 'Pinus sylvestris'. Scots pine is an evergreen conifer native to northern Europe, and is one of just three conifers native to the UK. ...

Storm Ali brought several trees down on the farm. We have spent a great deal of time and effort clearing the wood, for use in our log burners, and have made this 2 seater seat near the River Coquet out of the trunk that snapped. ...

In August we had the fields cut for hay. While we were doing this we decided to plant a new tree as part of our planting scheme. Thank you to Oscar Aspey (my godson) for his digging efforts as we now have a young oak tree in the newly fenced 'Oak Tree Field'. We hope that in years to come this tree will prosper and grow giving our landscape an ongoing tree line. If anyone is ...

Countryside Stewardship Scheme 2018 We have spent the summer putting in 1600m of fencing as part of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme using a Wrag Post knocker and some muscle power - thanks to Shaun! Our special thanks goes to Roger Kagan who has been the backbone of this process. This will mean we can do rotational grazing and also give the wildlife at Cragend Farm somew ...

Our boys having fun in the sun! Now big enough to climb anywhere, even the roof of the farmhouse. We are busy making sure our new lambs are growing big and healthy with all the new lush grass in the fields. ...

We are pleased to announce that the winner of the Airfreight Worldwide Competition is Richard Reed. Enjoy your prize! A bottle of Mobillion Champagne. The winning answer was 6 lambs.   Airfreight   Worldwide Unit H, Flaxley Park, Flaxley Way, Stechford   Birmingham B33 9AN. UK Tel: 0121 785  4870 / Fax: 0121 789  9582 E-mail:   [email protected] Andersen Harvey   ...

Farming practices continue with docking the lambs tails for hygiene purposes. ...

Our first lamb of the season was born on Tuesday 27th March 2018. This photo is before it had tried to get up so it was very new at this stage. Mother and lamb survived Day 1 and now all we need is some sunshine. We are going to call it Robinson whether it is male or female. ...

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