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There are many reasons why our guests love returning to Herding Hill Farm – stargazing the wonderful Northumberland dark skies, the tranquillity of the surrounding Northumberland countryside, our proximity to Hadrian’s Wall, our friendly and helpful wardens, Friday night pizzas, our outdoor hot tubs and our 5-star amenity block to name just a few. But we know that the main draw, particularly for our younger guests, looking for campsites with animals, is our animal petting farm. Herding Hill Farm is one of the few campsites with animals in Northumberland offering an experience of camping with animals. Wake to the sound of the braying of our resident donkey Coco. Where possible we take on rescue animals to give them a home.
Our guests are encouraged to get up close when camping with animals. There are plenty of opportunities to interact with our hens, alpacas, rabbits, goats, guinea pigs, donkey, Shetland pony and kune kune piglets during your camping with farm animals stay in Northumberland. Our 5-star campsite is peaceful and set back from any roads so the little ones are free to roam and visit the animal fields whenever they like.
We thought you’d like to meet the animals
Our hens aren’t named individually but are collectively known as the Spice Girls in that there are five of them. They are good egg layers and if guests are lucky, they may be given a fresh egg or two when passing. There is a small grain feeder at their pen. Here are some interesting facts about chickens you may not know:
We have 2 rabbits currently in our campsite with animal petting farm, having recently rescued a stray pet rabbit from Greenhead which has gone unclaimed. We’ve named her “Hou..she…ni” as she likes to gives our wardens the slip when they are feeding her! She joins Danny who has lived at Herding Hill Farm for some time. Some facts about rabbits:
Our two goats Alvin and Aaron have been with us for many years and are often seen playfighting with their horns or headbutting the large ball in their field. They sometimes sleep on top of their shed. Did you know that:
Hamilton and McGregor came to Herding Hill Farm in 2019. Did you know that guinea pigs:
One of the most recognisable signs at Herding Hill is our 3 alpacas Mambo, Knight and Minstrel standing on top of their rocky outcrop, silhouetted against the evening light. We regularly get people driving past stopping and taking photographs. Again, the three alpacas at Herding Hill Farm like to play fight with each other, often entangling their necks. They have funny teeth and it can give you quite a fright when they “smile” at you. They don’t have any teeth in their top front mouth. They love coming to the gate to greet our guests.
People often call them llamas, but a llama is a different South American animal. Alpacas are normally smaller, with small, blunt faces and short ears. A llama face is elongated and they have banana-shaped ears.
Some things you may not know about alpacas:
Robin is a regular sight for our dog walkers, as his field runs alongside the path fence and he regularly wanders over for a nosy. Robin is a beautiful Auburn Shetland Pony who shares the donkey field and amazingly gets on really well with the donkey Coco. Shetland ponies were originally used down the coal mines when the use of children was outlawed and are one of the oldest breeds. They have a double coat which protects them from the cold, perfect for when the cold Northumberland wind is whipping up the Herding Hill valley.
Coco is one of the noisiest residents at Herding Hill Farm, particularly if he sees any of our wardens just before feeding time. He also likes to call our guests over to ensure they don’t forget he is there. He is a sociable animal and regularly allows guests to stroke him at his gate. Until 2020 we had another donkey Barney who sadly passed away. Whilst donkeys typically live in pairs, Coco and Robin our Shetland pony get on so well we have decided to leave them together for the time being. Donkeys can be a calming influence on other animals and are very clever, with a keen sense of curiosity.
Frequent visitors to Herding Hill Farm will fondly remember Bubble, our huge KuneKune (pronounced “cooney cooney”) pig. Campers close to his field would often be able to hear him snore. Sadly, Bubble passed away in 2020, but we have two new KuneKune piglets that are already a firm favourite with our young guests. Called Chilli and Ginger they are settling in well and growing fast. They love being tickled by our wardens. Whether they grow as large as Bubble did remains to be seen! KuneKune is a New Zealand breed of pig.
If you are looking for a campsite with an animal petting farm or a child-friendly campsite in Northumberland we think you will have a wonderful time at Herding Hill Farm, so why not BOOK A STAY in a Wigwam near me or campsites near me now?