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Just a short note to say that our dear friend and neighbour Margaret Straughan passed away on 31st December New Years Eve 2020 after a brave battle with cancer. She has been a major part of our lives since we bought Cragend Farm in 2010 and was a vital part of piecing together the history of the farm. She was a kind and jolly neighbour, sharing recipes and thoughts for the da ...

Cattle Update: Our rare breed cattle are a tough breed and winter outside. They are hardy but nonetheless they still like a treat from time to time.   Living outside is a healthier option for them, despite the rain and cold, and we check them regularly to make sure they are fine. See our short video here or on youtube about them noshing from the buckets. They respond well t ...

Christmas may almost be here with the thought of a restful time and a few days off for many. However, Farming is a 365 days a year profession and we have to feed all our animals as well as care for their needs.   £10 buys a bag of feed or bedding. You can use our 'Crowdfunder Cragend Farm' via google or apply for a sponsorship form.   Avian flu has been headlined rece ...

Cragend Farm, Cragend Grange and East Cottage have all received super reviews this year and we want to thank everyone who has come to stay  with us, and given us these wonderful testimonies. Booking is now available for 2021. Thank you! ...

Competition winners:   The names of our new heifers are:   Lady Margaret of Armstrong Christmas Cracker   We thank everyone who entered and pledged. ...

Win the chance to name our Rare Breed calf! We are pleased to announce to all our supporters that we need you to get your thinking caps on! Can you help us name the two new calves we have had this year for their registration papers? This name will appear on their Pedigree Certificate and the winners will receive a copy of this by post plus a photo of your chosen calf Eve ...

Safer Stays Accommodation Cragend Farm has 'Safer Stays' and 'Sues Stay' kitemarks and super reviews about visitors who have stayed with us during the pandemic this summer. We strongly recommend that everyone checks the guidelines but this is a summary which means that staying at Cragend Farm, either at East Cottage or at a our private Bed and Breakfast room , The Armstrong ...

DONATIONS AND SPONSORSHIPS ARE HELPING US RAISE AND PROTECT THESE FABULOUS BRITISH BREEDS FROM EXTINCTION. If you are interested in sponsoring one of our animals as a gift for Christmas, a Birthday or Anniversary please contact us and we will be happy to send photos and updates about life at Cragend Farm. All our animals have official pedigree names and we issue a certificat ...

Farming Friends Forever This summer has been eventful with 2 new Whitebred Shorthorn calves born, who are growing up fast and are a great addition to our rare breed herd. The cows have had a fabulous summer of eating lots of grass and basking in the sunshine.  The cows are  hopefully pregnant and we will be taking care of them throughout the coming  Winter.  Our 3 Bagot Bil ...

Saluki Salutations This is Pepper a beautiful Saluki that came to stay with her family at Cragend Grange. She was such a gentle beautiful girl, and we thank her family for coming to stay in The Armstrong Wing with her. She was definitely star of the show. ...

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