Date: Saturday 28th – Monday 30th May 2016
Location: Broom House Farm, Wallington, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 4AT
Prices: £15 per unit + £3 per person per night.
Total cost for our stay: £48 (+ £2.50 for Pookie to meet and feed the animals!)
Our Stay: Broom House Farm lies within the grounds of the National Trust’s Wallington Hall and is currently managed by tenants Ian and Yvonne and home to their cattle, sheep, pigs, donkeys, goats, chickens, cats and dogs. The camping facilities (comprising of a very large fenced in field, four hot showers and two portaloos) were all we needed for a peaceful weekend away.
Upon arrival just after 12noon (prearranged as normal arrival is after 3pm) we knocked at the farmhouse door to be welcomed by the farmer, Ian. He showed us to the field and told us we could pitch wherever we fancied just as our friends arrived with their tent, the field was ours for the time being! With the gate closed the field was completely secure for us to allow our dogs to explore while we got set up. We pitched around the large picnic table provided and soon set off for a walk to Wallington.
Wallington Hall is just a mile away from the campsite and takes you through fields of lambs and curious young cows before picking up a well kept footpath through the woods to one of the wildlife hides. Whilst our party (three children under the age of 7) was a little too noisy to spot any wildlife, the woods are home to Roe Deer, Red Squirels and Badgers. At our slow pace it took us about 45 minutes to reach the main buildings at Wallington and more specifically the icecream shop before moving on to the Train Station playground. As well as the Hall at Wallington there are three playgrounds, a beautiful walled garden, several large lily ponds, a cafe and miles of walks. After an even slower walk back to the campsite we set the BBQ away and gathered some wood to keep us warm later. The food went down well (as did the wine) around the wonderfully huge picnic table and then with the children finally tucked away in bed we chatted until the sun went down…which was much later than you’d imagine.
Sunday morning arrived with this distant call of several cockerels and the loudest of moos from the smallest of calves. We ate breakfast (cooked outside on our petrol stove as we still haven’t got round to servicing the gas pipes in Willamina) and met Yvonne on the farm so the children could meet the animals and bottlefeed the calves and lambs.
Our friends packed up their tent and we all drove the 5 minute journey to Wallington and did the river walk before stopping for lunch. Then it was back to the site again for us, a nap for me and fun in the field for Pookie and his dad before dining al fresco yet again on the second night there was no resistance at bed time and Pookie fell asleep on my knee before being cunningly transferred to his new bed in the caravan…so much better than sharing with us! We stayed up until the solar lights eventually turned on and finally opened the bottle of port to celebrate our achievements with Willamina.
Having failed to remember to bring enough food for breakfast we nipped over the Kirkharle for bacon sandwiches, coffee and a look around the shops before packing up and heading home.
Pookie was heartbroken as we took down the awning and cried “no – leave it up!” through real tears. We’ve taken that as a sign that he, as well as us, had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend!
What we loved:
- A secure, clean wide open space for our free range child (and dogs) to explore – with the added bonus of animals everywhere
- The proximity to Wallington Hall was a huge plus and the scenery on the walk there was beautiful
- Fantastic hot showers…far better than ours at home! Though I felt bad not having a mop to clean up the muddy footprints I left on the way in.
What could’ve made it even better:
- The portaloo toilets – don’t forget to take a torch if you have to go through the night!
- Somewhere to get hot water and wash our dishes. We ended up filling our bowls with the shower and taking them back to the picnic table.
- If the owners had a selection of fire pits or chimineas we would have happily hired one for the duration of our stay and bought firewood from them each night
In summary:
A little hidden gem with huge potential run by two genuinely kind and interesting people. We will be back again!
The Little Patch 