We also have a few unusual gifts too and we will keep you posted on Southlands Farm “Parma Ham” coming soon!

For those of you who are local we are having our first “FARM SHOP OPEN DAY” on SUNDAY 11th of DECEMBER OPEN 10am till 4 pm. All very welcome… Come and see where we are ,whats in the freezers and to make your trip feel festive a complimentary mince pie or or two!

Hopefully see you then,
Charles and Dee

It looks like huge fun and had I not made a pledge never to do anything like it again at the end of the Great North Run (many years ago) I might be tempted to have a crack at it.

But seriously, have a look at the site, Steve Cram gives a very good interview about it all, and it is very beautiful scenery.  And what better place for a bit of R and R after a hard day than our Northumberland Cottages

Hedley Barrel Race

Looking for something to do on Easter Monday, this could be very good spectator sport!

The Feathers Inn

It is very sad news that Chesters Walled Garden (incorporating Hexham Herbs) is to close next May. Susie White has spent the last 23 years creating something very special, and a lot of our visitors have enjoyed the garden during their stays here. Here is a link to a local BBC report on the closure: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8137354.stm

It is not too late to visit the garden, as it doesn’t close until next year, I recommend a visit  if you can. Here is a little bit about the garden taken from the home page of the Chesters Walled Garden web site:

Chesters Walled Garden is a 2-acre 18th Century garden, surrounded on three sides by sheltering woods of beech and yew, and open to the south with views over the lovely Tyne valley. Situated next to Chesters Roman Fort, it is on the line of Hadrian’s Wall – the site of a Roman road actually crosses the garden. For over 200 years the fruit and vegetable garden for Chesters house, it has now been laid out as a unique herb and herbaceous garden. It boasts one of the largest collections of herbs in the country growing ebulliently behind neatly clipped box hedges. There are wide gravel paths, espalier apple trees that are over a hundred years old, long vistas, and secret corners where one can sit and dream. The National Thyme Collection, which grows on a 30-metre long raised bank, is at its peak in June and July when it resembles a Persian carpet of glowing colours and is alive with honey bees. A Mediterranean border of rosemaries, sages and other highly scented herbs growing in gravel also houses the National Collection of Marjoram. There are two pools, one with a fountain, the other of still water and reflections.

The Roman garden displays those herbs the Romans grew in Britain, culinary, medicinal, and sacred plants laid out in a small formal beds. Roses are planted in abundance in the walled garden. Some 100 varieties of old and species roses planted for their aroma, reach their height in July. Extensive herbaceous borders of unusual plants, double and variegated forms of cottage garden favourites, planted in a very English style. There is a medieval ‘knot garden’ of box planted to a design of 1617. Red squirrels can be seen in the surrounding woodland.

The nursery has a wide selection of plants; an extensive collection of herbs to choose from, wildflowers, old fashioned roses from David Austin, herbaceous plants and grasses. Many of the plants can be seen growing in the garden so you can see how they look when mature. There is a shop selling locally made products; honey from Northumberland, terracotta pots made in Hexham, candles, windchimes, jams and chutneys, books and postcards.

If you are interested the site is http://www.networkartists.org.uk/art_tour.php and a PDF brochure can be found here: http://www.networkartists.org.uk/pdf/2009brochure.pdf well worth a look in advance if you are planning a stay in Northumberland.

“Hadrian’s Wall stretches from Bowness-on-Solway in the West to Wallsend in the East. The Fairtrade Hadrian’s Wall project began in October 2008 with the aim of linking all of the Fairtrade towns within the Hadrian’s Wall corridor and of becoming the first World Heritage Site and National Trail to achieve Fairtrade zone status.

The Hadrian’s Wall zone crosses two counties, Cumbria and Northumberland, and encompasses numerous towns and villages and two cities, many of which already have, or are close to achieving, Fairtrade status. This zone is a 20 mile wide corridor that follows the line of Hadrian’s Wall from coast to coast.

There are already many businesses and other organisations in this corridor that provide Fairtrade products for their customers or staff and our aim is to raise the profile of Fairtrade even further and encourage more people to become involved.

We also strongly believe that local produce should be traded fairly and are working with Hadrian’s Wall Heritage to promote this project in tandem with their ‘Locally Produced’ scheme. We feel that the two compliment each other very well and promote the same principles.”

This looks a very worthwhile project, a good excuse to buy those delicious items from exotic foreign lands, and encouragement for our local businesses. Anything to take trade away from those overgrown grocery stores who would strangle our local businesses in the name of convenience and absentee shareholders (when I say absentee I refer to their absence of conscience; small time bankers really.)