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Welcome to the Cragend Farm blog, where we try to keep you up to date with what is going on on the farm, the B&B, self-catering cottage and anything else we get up to.
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There are accommodation, historical and nature entries cataloguing what has happened in the past.
You can dip into a specific area of interest for example, farming, or Accommodation simply click on the title and open up the blog entry.

 

 

Short Breaks and Half Term B&B We are looking forward to welcoming you as the sunrises and sunsets become more evocative of Autumn and the stars shine brighter. Booking online or use the contact page to email us. ...

When you come and stay with us for a B&B stay or a self catering break, you can be sure your day will be full of great adventures with Cragside National Trust right next door. As we are linked to Cragside by more than just history, it is great  to have us as your base.  With original Armstrong buildings and fittings, we are part of the Cragside story.  Booking via our ...

A new edition to our Rogues Gallery as we add Pancake, the Corgi from Scotland! He visited with his owners for a family Birthday Celebration during the August Bank Holiday and they all had a great time, with the children having space to play, BBQs, walks and lots of sight seeing in Northumberland.   Thank you to Pancake's owner Rosie for this great photo. ...

Heritage Open Days are here for a week from 12th September for people to visit us and see our heritage at Cragend Farm. For the next week we will be showing people around and showing why we are Cragside's little neighbour with a big story to tell.  The best way to tell you about the experience is with a review: "This was a splendid visit. Lou Rennwck was extreme ...

Welcome to our BLOG page where we welcome you to enjoy years of collated information on our restoration project here. Now run as a B&B and holiday cottage with historic tours on why we are Cragside's little neighbour with a big story to tell! This review gives you insight into what others who have stayed here liked about staying here: A fabulous, restful and restorativ ...

Weather for September  Weather in September is Good to very Good. Ideal for booking our self-catering holiday cottage or B&B Generally, September in Northumberland, UK, is characterized by   mild and moderate weather. Expect average daytime high temperatures around 18°C (64°F). Overnight lows average around 11°C (52°F). Daytime temperatures generally range from ...

Weather for August  Weather in August is Good. Generally, August in Northumberland, UK, is characterized by   mild and moderate weather. Expect average daytime high temperatures around 18°C (64°F). Overnight lows average around 11°C (52°F). Daytime temperatures generally range from about 17-19°C (63-66°F) Temperature Rainfall  Northumberland experiences modera ...

Jesmond Dene and its association with Cragend Farm. We have been of the opinion the tree near the Cragend Farm Hydraulic Silo  is a Hungarian Oak, as Natural England came and inspected it, so we took their word for it, but on further inspection, because of the furred acorn cups it has, we have done more research.  Taking a look at them in leave and with acorns aplenty this ye ...

B&B Rothbury  B&B Rothbury Northumberland, North East England, United Kingdom. Cragside tourist accommodation. Heritage site with boutique rooms. Booking essential. ...

Cragside Visitor Accommodation Visit Cragside National Trust property, and stay in an original Armstrong workers cottage in near by Cragend Farm, once the estate farm for Cragside.  Dogs welcome,  Families, cyclists, walkers, all welcome. ...

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