Dueshill Farm is an estate located about an hour's drive northwest of Newcastle on the beautiful hilly “Scottish style” countryside. There are places on the estate that held meaning in earlier times and there is a mixture of natural landscapes to admire and explore on foot.
Dueshill Farm has had multiple owners over the last centuries and until 1998 was part of a larger estate that stretched Farm across the River Cocquet. Now 400 hectares in size, it offers space for a very varied landscape with river and marshland, heathland, meadows, mixed forests and large differences in altitude. In particular, it is used as an organic sheep farm, where 600 blackface sheep roam outdoors year round. You can wander here for hours without running into anyone.
Dueshill Farm has a long history of human "civilisation" as shown from the remains in the ground of the Hillfort, an old fortress found on Harehaugh Hill. This particular hill is not Farm from the manor house. The remains date from the Iron Age (from 800 BC to 43 AD). A few hundred people lived in such a fort and there were about 3,300 such forts in total in Great Britain at the time.
The site is also home to the “Five Kings”, a sacred place where druids still gather every year. There are 4 large stones to be seen above ground and some people have told of a certain atmosphere that can be felt surrounding them, especially at night.
Nearby is the village of Holystone, which dates back to the 12th century AD. Home of the magical 'Mary's Well'. This spring was already there in the 14th century and there are documented stories that at least 1200 Christians were baptized there.
The name Dueshill Farm dates back to the time when the manor house was located on a busy trade route in the 16th century. At this time you had to pay dues for your merchandise here on this hill.
The farmhouse and courtyard can host up to 20 people. There are 10 bedrooms with a total of 6 bathrooms. In the farmhouse there is also a cozy but large living room with a big fireplace and open kitchen where meals can be enjoyed together, if not outside in the sun on the terrace. The front yard of the farmhouse offers beautiful views across the valley with space for morning Chi Gong sessions and/or evening campfire ceremonies.
For people who wish to stay longer and are interested to venture further out, there are some beautiful historic sites nearby such as Alnwick Castle, the Hadrian Wall, Bamburgh Castle and Alnmouth. These are all about a 45 minutes (scenic) drive from the estate.
Dueshill Farm is also a mere 45 minutes drive from Newcastle Airport with 3-4 direct flights daily from Amsterdam. There is also the possibility to take the night boat from IJmuiden to Newcastle with an additional 75-minute drive to Dueshill. The nearest supermarket is a 15 minute drive away in Rothbury.
