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After some days of heavy rain and seeing a great many newts and frogs around the pond, we now have a vast amount of frog spawn. As long as it stays reasonably wet and the water levels do not drop too much we will have a good many tadpoles wiggling around in a few weeks time. The frog spawn makes good eating for the visiting ducks and geese but hopefully there is enough there ...

It has been really exciting to see the wildlife return to area of the farm that were unusable. With the help of a Natural England grant we have made a woodland area. Hares have been sighted there as now is the mating season for them. We are thrilled. Brown Hares graze on vegetation and nibble bark from young trees and bushes. Hares shelter in a 'form', which is simply a shallo ...

I was walking the dogs through our newly planted woodland to the east of the farm, and despite having them with me, I spotted a deer who did not seem at all afraid of us. In recent weeks we have also spotted a stag and several does going from our woodland down to the river. ...

Farm graffitti dating from 1880 to Post-War has been found in the top floor on the  lime plaster of the barns. ...

Our Rogues Gallery is dedicated to visiting dogs who stay at East Cottage and Cragend Grange. Memorable are the Cockerpoo and Labrador who brought their owners for a holiday to name but a few. ...

Wedding Guest Accommodation: We offer dog-friendly accommodation for guests visiting Northumberland for weddings locally. We can help arrange taxi's and have plenty of parking here for visiting family. Some of our visitors have been newly-weds and stayed at East Cottage or The Armstrong Wing as part of their Wedding Present. Gift Cards are available for weekend breaks  in th ...

This weekend has been very eventful, not only because it was our son's 10th Birthday but also because we bought some new sheep for the farm. The park type Caithness Cheviot ewes will be a welcome sight and a great addition to our stock. They are  called: Valentine, Europe, Barbara, Minty and Rosemary. Our thanks to the Lockerbie mart Harrison & Hetherington and to the Nort ...

There are Deer in the Coquet Valley and we are lucky enough to have sightings of them quite regularly at Cragend Farm. There are wildlife cameras in the woods for squirrel sighting purposes and sometimes they capture the deer too. If you are staying here and like getting up early for a walk you may be luckily and see the deer grazing on the Enclosure Field above the farm, l ...

Dogs are welcome at Cragend Farm, whether you stay at East Cottage or are visiting our B&B rooms. We have three dogs and so we are very used to having dogs in the house. There are lots of lovely walks, around our wildlife pond, or down by the River Coquet for anyone staying with us, so we encourage you to bring your dogs with you and let them enjoy your holiday too! The Rog ...

The Silo was designed and built by Lord Armstrong of Cragside to make silage for his Prize Shorthorn Beef Cattle that were housed here at Cragend Farm. It is a Grade II* listed building of National Importance because it gives historians an insight into the Agricultural Industrial Revolution that occurred in Victorian England. Silage was a new commodity in the 1880's but was tho ...

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.

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