Willowford Farm on Hadrian's Wall

Willowford is a working organic farm with Hadrian’s Wall running right through it. Our 5 en-suite rooms, dining room and lounge are full of character, with exposed wooden beams, local slate flooring and antique furniture, converted from the old milking parlour, cart house, grain store and pig holes! The comfortable kingsize beds can all be separated into 2 singles. Relax in one of the sunny gardens or the cosy living room with wood burning stove, or take a stroll along Hadrian’s Wall. The space Willowford Farm is a 100 acre organic hill farm in the very far north-east corner of Cumbria, just next to the Northumberland border. The farm buildings sit above the River Irthing and enjoy splendid views down the valley as it meanders westwards towards the Eden and ultimately the Solway Firth. We are also fortunate to have one of the best remaining stretches of Hadrian’s Wall running right through the farm. Expect to be greeted as you arrive at the farm by Alan, our wonderful friendly sheepdog, with Pip the cat following closely behind! The converted barns offer groups of friends or family a cosy, relaxing and comfortable base from which to explore Hadrian's Wall (or to just relax in the garden or in the cosy living room!). The rooms are full of character and are energy efficient, using underfloor heating and insulated with sheep’s wool. Bedroom 5 even has the famous Phillipus stone (the signature stone chief Roman stonemason who built this section of the Wall) the built into its exterior wall. All the bedrooms are en-suite and have comfortable king-size beds that can be separated into 2 singles if you’d prefer. Each bedroom has a flat-screen TV, tea and coffee making facilities, and has been beautifully and individually decorated to a high standard. You can cook up a feast in the well-stocked kitchen, with all the usual pots, pans, crockery, cutlery, utensils, etc. that you’d have at home, but if there’s something specific you think you’ll need feel free to ask us if we have it. The dining table seats 10 people comfortably - perfect for a lovely night in with friends or family. And then you can retreat to the lounge to relax with a glass of wine by the wood burning stove, watch TV or read a book. Or take an evening stroll down to the river to walk off that big meal! The dining room leads out into a lovely private garden where you can enjoy your breakfast, lunch or dinner, or just lie down in the sun with a good book! It has a BBQ, tables and chairs, and a washing line to dry out those wet walking clothes! It also has views across the fields where you’ll see our horses, hens and sheep – we keep a small flock of Merino, Icelandic and Black Welsh Mountain sheep so we can produce our own wool. There’s a large second garden where the kids can kick a ball about, with a bench overlooking Turret 48b, just a couple of metres away. Wildlife abounds on the farm thanks to our efforts to make the farm as biodiverse as possible. We’re in a Higher Level Stewardship Scheme through which we have planted lots of trees and hedges to encourage nature to our farm. There are otters and kingfishers along the river, badgers, foxes, hedgehogs deer, buzzards, garden and farm birds galore, and so much more – keep your eyes peeled as you wander around! If you’re out in the evening you’ll see the many bats that live here on the farm with us. You can keep up with what we're doing on the farm through our social media pages. Some of the best parts of Hadrian’s Wall are just a short walk from the farm. Birdoswald is just a 15 minute walk (approx 1 mile) Vindolanda is a little further (around 9 miles) and the famous Sycamore Gap – which sadly no longer has its magnificent sycamore – is about 8 miles away. There are plenty of maps and walking books for you to plan your days out, and novels for you to delve into while you’re here.