Firwood Country Bed & Breakfast, Northumberland, Wooler
Firwood, Wooler, Northumberland
Bed and Breakfast Accommodation in Northumberland, Living Room and Fire in Firwood
Introduction | What's Included | Bedrooms | Attractions | Contact & Tariff | Environmental Policy

WELCOME to FIRWOOD BED & BREAKFAST ACCOMMODATION in NORTHUMBERLAND

Set in an enviable, elevated position in tranquil Northumberland, this former hunting lodge is now bed and breakfast accommodation owned and operated by Mike and Beth Mills. The B&B overlooks the picturesque area of Glendale, Northumberland and nestles close to the Cheviot Hills. Firwood provides peaceful and relaxing bed and breakfast accommodation with a touch of style and luxury.

We offer from our B&B a magnificent location, central for exploring all of Northumberland, the Scottish Borders and even Edinburgh or Newcastle, which are only 60-70 miles away. We are roughly 18 miles from the coast as the crow flies, just far enough to miss any sea frets! The treasures of Bamburgh Castle, the unspoilt beaches at Bamburgh, Seahouses, the Elizabethan town walls of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Alnwick Garden and Alnwick Castle, the Farne Islands, the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, Warkworth Castle, Alnmouth and Northumberland National Park are all within easy reach. If you want to cross to the Farne Isles to see the Puffins, the boats leave from Seahouses, again a lovely drive of just under 20 miles. Look at the attractions menu to see the breadth of things to see and do. If you are coming to walk the Northumberland hills, then again, we are well situated. Leave the car at our bed and breakfast, walk up the hill and down into the Harthope Valley - and there are the Cheviots! To have a quick overview of where we are in relation to everywhere else, go to the Introduction Page and click on Larger Map on the left hand side. For a very useful downloadable relief map of this area of Northumberland, use this link Wooler and Glendale

Learn more about our 5 Star Gold award winning bed and breakfast in Northumberland by clicking the links above.
 

Enjoy England 5 Star rating

Firwood Country Bed & Breakfast, Middleton Hall, Wooler, Northumberland, NE71 6RD
T: 01668 283699
E:

Quite a few people seem to be having problems with e-mail's going astray at the moment, possible because of all the different Spam and Virus filters. If you do not get a reply from us, certainly within 5-6 hours PLEASE ring us! We are not ignoring you!

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In the North Northumberland Area

 

What's happening this month at Alnwick Gardens?This July is a lovely time to experience The Alnwick Garden. The Rose Garden becomes a riot of colour and scent as more than three thousand David Austin Roses come into flower. Enjoy an exhibition from the International Garden Photographer of the Year and visit the Ornamental Garden for a summer treat, with giant delphiniums, more roses. The Alnwick Gardens

The Castle of Bamburgh sitting on a crag of basalt, can be classed as amongst the most impressive in England. Looking down on the village of Bamburgh the castle dominates the Northumberland coast, a breathtaking area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. . http://www.bamburghcastle.com

Howick Hall Gardens have been awarded Garden of the Year by Gardens Illustrated and Garden Museum.Garden Tours every Friday at 2pm, given by Howick Hall Garden Volunteers. Meet at Admissions Kiosk. Learn about the history of Howick Hall, the family and the gardens. Silverwood - the Woodland Garden where the rhododendrons are over for another year but there is still some interesting herbaceous planting to see, including the blue Himalayan poppies (meconopsis), geums, and primulas. The Bog Garden is stunning at the moment with some unusual and interesting plants coming on. The Wild flower Meadows around Howick Hall are in full bloom and these will be left uncut until July when the seed has set for next year. The arboretum is lovely now and on a woodland walk down to the sea - which leads to a lovely sandy cove at Burnmouth - visitors can take on the 'Howick Family Explorer Challenge', a nature trail for families which poses a number of questions - look out for swans, herons, ducks and red squirrels! Howick has been owned by the Grey family (of Earl Grey tea fame)since 1319 and is still a very good place to visit for said tea and cake! The gardens are situated between Alnwick and Craster www.howickhallgardens.org.uk

Chillingham Castle Ghost Tours! The castle is reputed to be amongst the most haunted in the UK - it is certainly very atmospheric at the best of times. If you fancy a scary few hours, why not book a tour and see what puts the wind up? It's a quirky place to visit during daylight hours with a wonderful Italianate garden where the famous herbaceous border is the longest in Northern England and woodland walks to the lake. They also have a series of events, Monday The 5th of July 2010 The Castle Theatre Company present Macbeth Full details to be announced soon. See more here Chillingham Castle

 

Have a break from castles while you are in Northumberland! The Chain Bridge Honey Farm at Horncliffe - where the old chain bridge is located, is a wonderful diversion. Not only do they produce honey (honestly!) but they have an excellent visitor centre which was established in the early 1990's. This tells the story of bees and honey and there is a live observation hive where you can embark on a search for the queen bee and watch the workers arriving with the pollen on their hind legs. There is a fantastic mural, a 10 year labour of love by local artist Tony Johnson and then you can take refreshments in the double decker bus! Admission is free to the visitor centre, find Chain Bridge on http://chainbridgehoney.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really think that Northumberland is starting to become THE place to be for arts and crafts. Taking a little drive from Wooler to Bamburgh, I found quite a few galleries - these are just a sample. In Wooler itself, you might like to visit Florin, a lovely shop selling all sorts of delights, is now incorporated with the Glendale Gallery, a tranquil little space, ideal for just sitting and viewing the works of art. If you are into textiles and embroidery, you might like to try one of Helen Cowans workshops. These are held in her studio throughout the year at Haugh Head, Wooler and according to some of our guests, who made a very creditable attempt at a 'Tower of Flowers', very enjoyable and worthwhile. Beautiful work from what I saw! Helen's details can be found at www.helencowans.co.uk . The newest addition to the growing range of shops in Wooler is Breeze. A contemporary gallery with a good range of gifts and a very nice coffee shop - not bad for one shop! They recently held their first exhibition featuring internationally acclaimed artists, with a meet the artist day. Very informative, Helen, see above, was there and I met a chap called Les McLean a photographer of some note who lives in a little village just north of us. He was full of stories about this area of Northumberland and a lot of his work reflects his love of Northumberland - one that I love is of Roughting Linn, a wonderful waterfall not far from cup and ring marks. If you are interested in photography, you can do worse than visit Les's site at www.lesmcleanphotography.com Traveling across county to the coast, you must call in at the Chatton Gallery at Chatton. A wonderful space and pictures. They don't seem to have a web site but don't let that put you off! Still heading towards Bamburgh, make your next port of call Belford and the Belford Craft Gallery. A long established shop, now run by the original owner's daughter, she is extending it into the Courtyard Gallery. You can view the exhibition programme on their web site. Then you come to Bamburgh itself and the Bamburgh Gallery. It majors on coastal and marine landscape and wildlife art and can be found at 9 Lucker Road, Bamburgh. All this on just one drive across Northumberland, I've only just touched the surface!!

 

 

 

Some Guests Comments

Fantastic hospitality and wonderful welcome. We will be back! David and Marie-Claire, Rutland

Lovely room, best ever breakfast, Margaret and Jim, Middle Hill, Broadway

Once again a very enjoyable stay. We feel really spoilt. See you again. Chris and Bob, West Yorks

Perfect and such a welcome. Just like the last time. We will be back. Gordon and Jenn, Surrey

We've enjoyed our fifth time here more than ever! Look forward to seeing you both again. Sandy and Debi, Scotland.

'Reet Champion!' Ian and Gill, Norwich

Peaceful and excellent hospitality. We'll come again! Lisa and Matt, Chester
 
What's happening at Firwood
We are working to provide the very best in Country House Bed and Breakfast accommodation in Northumberland, with all the home comforts of real fires, sumptuous freshly cooked breakfasts and of course, a very warm welcome. As a result of our efforts, we have been awarded 5 Star Gold 2009/10 from VisitBritain.

We have also been approved by VisitBritain as been committed to catering for the accommodation needs of cyclists and walkers after meeting the criteria of the Walkers and Cyclists Welcome Scheme.

We are a totally no smoking establishment.

Sorry, Firwood is not considered suitable for children.

 
Green Tourism Silver Award

We have also been awarded a Silver Award in Green Tourism

Firstly, what is Green Tourism?

Green tourism is a term used to describe best environmental practice within the tourism sector. It covers issues such as business efficiency, environmental management, waste, transport, as well as topics like social responsibility and biodiversity. By agreeing to the GTBS code of conduct and through independent assessment of their activities, members have made a commitment towards reducing the impact of their business on the environment. To see how we are doing, either click on the link in the navigation bar, or click on the Green Tourism logo.

Access Statement. Please e-mail for a copy.

July 2010

I have to make the declaration that the waterfalls along the Carey Burn off the Harthope Valley are officially a sports free zone. There is Sky - the wide-open blue kind, there is HD - the colours of the hillsides and the water zinging in the clear air. There is smellavision, not new technology to those in the know, wafts of scents from the wild thyme underfoot, coconut from the gorse and the fresh green grass scent. We have our own version of the vuvuzela, not the annoying monotone kind but a soothing background of bees, birds, grasshoppers and all manner of other beasties, easy on the ear and calming to the mind. But no football, tennis, motor sport....

The hedgerows have been magnificent this year and we have seen a lot of activity around in and around Firwood in the nesting of birds. Our garden has seen at least 3 lots of Blackbird chicks, the same with the Songthrush (we have very few snails!), a variety of Tits and a steady population of Siskins, Greenfinches and Goldfinches. The Great Spotted Woodpeckers have been decimating the nuts so they are obviously feeding youngsters. The Nuthatches took over a Blue Tit box and successfully reared 3 young - see picture below of one of the fledgelings.

There are at least 3 pairs of Spotted Flycatchers aground Firwood and Middleton Hall which is really good news as they are on the RSPB Red List which denotes a species needing urgent conservation action. There seems to be lots of flies around, so hopefully they will do well. There have also been a few sightings of Barn Owls and we know of some chicks, great news as they are Amber status. They suffered very much in this area with the severe winter weather. The Hares seem to have done well though, I see at least a couple every day on my evening walk with Glen, my Border Collie. In fact yesterday Glen thought all his birthdays had come at once when a HUGE Hare came along the lane to meet us. It didn't seem to realise we were there - until Glen let out one bark and hare and dog disappeared in a puff of dust. Hare went under the gate into the wheat field, Glen went over. All I could see was the tips of Glen's ears occasionally has he bounded up to get his bearings in the tall crop. Of course his quarry was long gone but he was enjoying the run, so I had to wait (not a hardship in the late afternoon warmth) while Glen went around the field at least 3 times - before dunking himself into the water of the field trough which I have to say was a bit green and smelly. Perhaps the area is not completely sport free!

Actually, cycling is a big thing in the area and there are some wonderful cycling events at the end of this month. Glendale is still relatively car free and with some of the most scenic little roads and some 8000 years of history to cycle through, they promise to be full of activity and entertainment. To find out more and to download a leaflet with the route etc. go to GLENDALE HERITAGE RIDE

 

W have a very nice little write up on the Northumberland National Park web site about the National Park Bumblebee Awards of which we were a winner last year. If you are interested, take a look on Bumblebee Awards

Now regular viewers will know I broke my ankle earlier this year and am not yet back to full walking fitness. However, Geoff Holland, hill walker, fell runner, mountain biker and walk book writer, has very kindly let me link to his site Cheviot Walks Here you will find walks in the Cheviot Hills to tickle the most jaded of palates and they are downloadable for your own use. His latest book 'Walks from Wooler' re-creates the walks of W. Ford Roberston from a book published in 1926. I don't think the essence of them has changed.

Bye for now,

Beth

 

 

 

  One of our fledgling Nuthatches - aaahh! on Twitpic

 

 

 

Catch up with me on TWITTER

 

 

SOS (Save Our Squirrels), keep you're eye on it at http://www.saveoursquirrels.org.uk

www.bednbreakfastnorthumberland.co.uk

Bumblebee Conservation Trust

www.firwoodfootsteps.blogspot.com

http://www.nwt.org.uk/
 

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