Cherryburn (near Prudhoe) | A National Trust Hidden Gem & a Sun Trap that's Perfect for Picnics

I can't believe it has been 5 years since our last visit to Cherryburn. We were well overdue a visit so with the promise of sunshine, we decided to make Cherryburn our destination for our first summer picnic.

We picked up some picnic supplies from our local Aldi en-route. I know people say this all of the time but how cheap is Aldi?? We managed to buy lunch for 5 (with leftovers), drinks, suncream and a packet of baby wipes (picnic essential!) for £12. Amazing!

Cherryburn is around a 30 minute drive from our home in Northumberland. It's just outside of Prudhoe and would be a nice day out to combine with nearby Prudhoe Castle. Cherryburn is a National Trust property and there's a small admission fee (free for members) although to be honest we've never had to show our cards to access the gardens only as there's never any staff on the gate. Find out more about opening hours and admission charges here.

Our first stop was the farmyard. There used to be chickens here but we didn't spot any on this visit and there's a circular paddock walk which was unfortunately closed. Thankfully there were some alpacas though and they were so funny to watch.

Cherryburn has their own beehives so we wandered over to have a nosey before setting down in the sunshine on the front lawn.

There was a basket of outdoor games for families to help themselves to with balls, skipping ropes, wheelbarrows and tractors all being popular. We settled with a game of frisbee in the sunshine. Happy days! The kids were happy and we were happy. At 12 noon there was only us and one other family there, it was so peaceful and tranquil and I'd definitely recommend Cherryburn as a place to get away from it all. The garden is a real suntrap too and we all wished we'd put our shorts on!

There's a teeny cafe inside of Cherryburn house serving scones, hot and cold drinks plus ice creams. The staff here were all super friendly and we couldn't resist a couple of bottles of traditional lemonade to go with our picnic. There's seating outside in the farmyard courtyard and the staff will bring your drinks out to you when ready.

After a nice and relaxing picnic, we decided to pack up and check out the nature trail. How cute is this badger gate!

The nature area is small but kept my three entertained as they ran amongst the trees,  built dens, played on the stepping stones and checked out the bug hotel.

We ended our trip to Cherryburn with ice creams in the farmyard overlooking the alpacas with gorgeous views of the countryside. Perfect!

We spent 2.5 hours at Cherryburn and I said to Steve if we'd had more time I'd have brought a book and just let the kids run off and play for the full afternoon. It's just a small site and there's no play park but there's still a fair bit to see and do. You can also visit Cherryburn House which is interesting to look around but as the sun was shining so beautifully, we wanted to make the most of it and didn't visit indoors on this occasion. There are trail sheets and wildlife spotting sheets at the house reception.

Next time the sun's shining and you fancy a National Trust day out, I'd highly recommend visiting Cherryburn. A trip here makes a refreshing change from it's bigger sisters of Gibside, Cragside and Wallington.

Find out more about Cherryburn here

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