Meet the animals at Herding Hill Farm

Campsite with Animals

There are many reasons why our guests love returning to Herding Hill Farm – dark sky glamping under 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 home-made pizzas, our outdoor hot tub accommodation and our 5-star luxury amenities to name just a few. But we know that the main draw, particularly for our younger guests, looking for campsites with animals, is our 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 who has an in-built alarm clock for feeding time. 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 pigs during your camping with farm animals stay in Northumberland. Our 5-star campsite with playground 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 also invite guests to join our campsite wardens for the twice daily feeding which takes place at dawn and dusk in the Winter and around 8.30am and 4.30pm in the Summer. Enquire at Reception for exact times during your stay. 

Looking after the animals on our petting farm

We have a small number of rules we politely ask guests to respect when visiting our campsite with animals to protect their welfare:

• Please avoid feeding the animals with grass as it may upset their stomachs
• Never enter thier field or pen without a warden
• Please keep dogs on a lead at all times and do not allow them to become a nuisance at the petting farm fence or upset the animals
• Keep young children under supervision - whilst our animals are used to people they still do have teeth

We thought you’d like to meet the campsite animals at Herding Hill Farm: 

Our Spice Girls 

Our hens aren’t named individually but are collectively known as the Spice Girls. They are good egg layers and if guests are lucky, they may be given a fresh egg or two when passing. Here are some interesting facts about chickens you may not know: 

• Hens love to sunbathe 
• Hens have an amazing memory and are able to recognise people – watch them when any of our wardens walk past  
• Hens see ultraviolet and iridescent light, so everything is much more colourful to them 

Our Rabbits

The rabbits in our campsite with animals are mischievous and like to give our wardens the slip during feeding time. Some facts about rabbits: 

• A male rabbit is called a buck and a female rabbit a doe, like deer
• Rabbits can rotate their huge floppy ears to almost a full 270 degrees  
• With eyes on the sides of their heads, rabbits have 360-degree vision, useful for avoiding predators in the wild 

Our Goats

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: 

• Mother and kid goats recognise each other’s calls as soon as the mother has given birth  
• A goat giving birth is known as “kidding” just as a baby goat is known as a kid  
• Goats dislike water and would leap over a stream rather than walk through it 
• Goats love discarded Christmas trees and the team at WCF regularly donate their Christmas trees for the goats to strip and then play with

Our Guinea Pigs 

Young children are able to hold our guinea pigs during feeding times provided they are gentle. Did you know that guinea pigs: 

• Are not pigs; they are rodents  
• Eat their own poo  
• Are vegan 

Our Alpacas 

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 stopping and taking photographs. Our 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. Guests staying in our hot tub lodge get a great view into the alpaca field from their hot tub. They stay outdoors come wind, rain or shine and don't seeem bothered by the wild winds that sometimes lash the campsite with animals.

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: 

• There are only two breeds of alpaca in the world, with approximately 90% of alpacas being the huacaya breed  
• Alpacas are vegetarian and typically eat less than a guinea pig over the course of the day  
• Alpacas typically live for 20 years or more 

Our Shetland Pony 

Robin is a regular sight for our dog walkers, as his field runs alongside the path up to the dog walk and he regularly wanders over for a nosy. Robin is a beautiful Auburn Shetland Pony who shares the donkey field with 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. 

Interesting facts about Shetland ponies:

• UK Shetland ponies cannot be taller than 11 hands 
• Shetland ponies can be any colour except spotted  
• Shetland ponies live a long life – typically around 30 years - Robin was a rescue animal so we don;t excatly know how old he is

Our Donkey

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. Donkeys can be a calming influence on other animals and are very clever, with a keen sense of curiosity.

Interesting facts about donkeys: 

• A donkey is far stronger than a horse of the same size  
• Donkeys can see all four of their feet at the same time  
• Healthy donkeys can live well into their 50s 

Our Pigs 

Frequent visitors to our campsite with animals 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 pigs Chilli and Ginger who we have raised since they were piglets. They are a firm favourite with our young guests. They love being tickled by our wardens. KuneKune is a New Zealand breed of pig. 

• KuneKunes are grazers, not foragers like most pigs, and can live on grass alone 
• KuneKune means “fat and round” in Maori  
• KuneKune pigs are known as miniature pigs although anyone who met Bubble would question that! 

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 Cabin near me or campsites near me now?