Helping on a smallholding and house sitting in rural Northumberland, England, UK
Last activity
: 16 Nov 2025
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Min stay requested: No minimum
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Host ref number: 565296757518
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Feedback (13)
Left by host for Workawayer (Rachel)
Rachel and Zoe only stayed with us for a week but we loved having them and wished that they could have stayed for longer. They were hardworking, happy and appreciative girls and brilliant with our grandchildren, especially our grandson who can be quite difficult at times. It was a pleasure to have Zoe and Rachel around, they were very helpful and
… read more did loads of digging in the garden for us as well as freezing masses of rhubarb, tidying the kitchen and making gnocchi with the children for our supper. Thank you so much Rachel and Zoe and best wishes for the future.
Left by host for Workawayer (Louis)
Louis stayed with us for 2 weeks. He travelled by bus all the way from the Alps and although his English was not too good, he was very resourceful and confident. Louis worked very hard and became an expert at splitting wood with an axe! He also was very helpful in the kitchen and enthusiastic and happy. He loves climbing and spent a couple of days
… read more at a nearby crag and also decided to leave a few days early so that he could go climbing in the Peak District. We now have a full wood shelter thanks to Louis. Best wishes from us .
We really enjoyed staying at Jules and Dave ´s cottage which is very well located in Northumberland (English most beautiful region by the way). They run a huge land where there ´s always to do. We were pleased to help them as they host us 3 weeks long being always kind and helpful with us. We never missed of something. They eating local and
… read more Organical food which they grow for the most part. The surroundings are just breathtaking and as sportive as they are, they won’t hesitate to show you the best places to go to on a gentle cycling ride (good carfs required as it is quite hilly ;D). We ve spent unforgettable moments among their lovely family. Jules is very impressive; she is always busy as a bee, she will always make sure you don’t miss anything. As teachers, you ll be able to discuss about any subject for hours. Dave is one of the nicest person we ve ever met. He is a man of wisdom, and we really learned a lot from him, whether on a social plan than on a cultural one. Their own children and grand children were so kind toward us, it was a real pleasure to meet all of them and to play cricket in the garden together.
We've enjoyed our stay so much that we've planned to go and see them again for sure.
Victoire and Pierre were brilliant workawayers. They worked really hard and we could only stop them working with difficulty! They were very enthusiastic , helpful and keen to try out new things. Pierre spent hours scything and Victoire helped in the garden, scything and even painting windows( which she was very good at) and they got on well with
… read more adults and children alike.. When we went away for 5 days they looked after the animals and cottage for us. We enjoyed having them to stay with us very much. There were lots of interesting discussions about politics, global warming amongst other things. We shall miss having Pierre and Victoire here and hope that we shall see them again sometime. Thank you both so. J h and best wishes for the future.Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
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Left by host for Workawayer (Rachel)
Rachel and Zoe only stayed with us for a week but we loved having them and wished that they could have stayed for longer. They were hardworking, happy and appreciative girls and brilliant with our grandchildren, especially our grandson who can be quite difficult at times. It was a pleasure to have Zoe and Rachel around, they were very helpful and
… read more did loads of digging in the garden for us as well as freezing masses of rhubarb, tidying the kitchen and making gnocchi with the children for our supper. Thank you so much Rachel and Zoe and best wishes for the future.
Left by host for Workawayer (Louis)
Louis stayed with us for 2 weeks. He travelled by bus all the way from the Alps and although his English was not too good, he was very resourceful and confident. Louis worked very hard and became an expert at splitting wood with an axe! He also was very helpful in the kitchen and enthusiastic and happy. He loves climbing and spent a couple of days
… read more at a nearby crag and also decided to leave a few days early so that he could go climbing in the Peak District. We now have a full wood shelter thanks to Louis. Best wishes from us .
We really enjoyed staying at Jules and Dave ´s cottage which is very well located in Northumberland (English most beautiful region by the way). They run a huge land where there ´s always to do. We were pleased to help them as they host us 3 weeks long being always kind and helpful with us. We never missed of something. They eating local and
… read more Organical food which they grow for the most part. The surroundings are just breathtaking and as sportive as they are, they won’t hesitate to show you the best places to go to on a gentle cycling ride (good carfs required as it is quite hilly ;D). We ve spent unforgettable moments among their lovely family. Jules is very impressive; she is always busy as a bee, she will always make sure you don’t miss anything. As teachers, you ll be able to discuss about any subject for hours. Dave is one of the nicest person we ve ever met. He is a man of wisdom, and we really learned a lot from him, whether on a social plan than on a cultural one. Their own children and grand children were so kind toward us, it was a real pleasure to meet all of them and to play cricket in the garden together.
We've enjoyed our stay so much that we've planned to go and see them again for sure.
Victoire and Pierre were brilliant workawayers. They worked really hard and we could only stop them working with difficulty! They were very enthusiastic , helpful and keen to try out new things. Pierre spent hours scything and Victoire helped in the garden, scything and even painting windows( which she was very good at) and they got on well with
… read more adults and children alike.. When we went away for 5 days they looked after the animals and cottage for us. We enjoyed having them to stay with us very much. There were lots of interesting discussions about politics, global warming amongst other things. We shall miss having Pierre and Victoire here and hope that we shall see them again sometime. Thank you both so. J h and best wishes for the future.
Left by Workawayer (Jisk) for host
When things don't go as planned, you only hope everything will turn out right. And it did! The initial plan was to stay with Dave and Julia for two weeks, after which I would continue my travels through Britain. However, after a lovely week Covid-19 struck, and everything from pubs to museums closed around us. I thought this would be the end of my
… read more travels, which instead of three months would only have lasted a week, but Dave and Julia allowed me to stay on for a bit and work on the farm while deciding what my next steps were going to be.
A week turned into two weeks, which turned into a month, in which time flew past as if I had been dreaming it all. It was lovely working outside, caring for the animals, driving a tractor, planting trees, cutting wood and doing some landscaping. I learned so much while I was here, and my initial travel plans which of course had been cancelled made place for an experience on which I will look back on with a smile in the future. There's a lot of history in the area which makes it great for walks with a destination. From the nearby castles of Chillingham and Bamburgh to the cup and ring marked rocks on the surrounding hills, there's plenty to see. Even though everything was in lockdown I did get to see some of the local area as I went on cycling rides with their bikes, which they happily supplied me with. I also really enjoyed entertaining Julia and Dave's grandchildren. We went into the woods to find potion ingredients, jumped on the trampoline and talked about Harry Potter and steam locomotives. Julia also maintains a daily rhythm around the house, which was good for me as I was used to getting up whenever I woke up, and sleeping whenever I felt like going to bed ;-)
I learned a lot of new skills, I changed my way of doing things and I enjoyed the Northumbrian countryside and beaches. The virus did not stop me from having a good time for these five weeks, thanks to the hospitality from Dave, Julia, Nicola and her children. I shall miss the home baked bread, pies, scones and cakes and the smell of daffodils and the sound of the Scots pines in the wind. Thank you all of you from the bottom of my heart, you made my journey worthwhile.You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by host for Workawayer (Jisk)
Jisk stayed with us for 5 weeks and we really enjoyed having him here. He is a very likeable, confident and adults intelligent young man and has a passion for history. We managed to visit a few castles while he was here but due to the lockdown and Covid 19 it was difficult to explore the surrounding area as much as we or he would have liked. Jisk
… read more worked hard on our smallholding and also was very good at entertaining the children. He is very sociable and will discuss any topic and gets on well with adults and children. Jisk has excellent English and it’s a shame that the pandemic has put an early end to his worlaway experiences in the UK for the time being. We hope that Jisk will visit us again in the future.
Left by host for Workawayer (Colin)
We have really enjoyed having Colin to stay with us and were very sad to say goodbye to him today. Colin is very hard working, kind , polite and a pleasure to have around. He is good at everything, from putting in fence posts to playing with the children and gets on well with everybody.
Thank you Colin and you are always welcome here!
Left by Workawayer (Colin) for host
I was supposed to go to another family that cancelled at the last minute, and this amazing family answered me the same day and hosted me the next day, and I couldn’t have hoped a better place to be (appart from the hay fiver and the flies haha)!
The work was quite hard sometimes, but very interesting and rewarded with amazing food (do expect to
… read more eat a lot)! We built a new fence for the goats, helped the lovely neighbors to build their polytunnel, did some gardening and picked hundreds of delicious red currants and black currants! We went three times to the beach, two times for a cycle ride, I visited Alnwick : despite the hard work I had time to have fun with them! So a HUGE thank you to you Julia, Dave, Nicola, the two lovely children Jess and Finn, and the whole family for these two unforgettable weeks, I wish you all the best!You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by host for Workawayer (Nathanaël)
Nathanael stayed with us for 2 weeks. He helped out very hard and always volunteered to help us rather than having free time. Not only was Nathanael hard working but he was very popular with our grandchildren and also a good cyclist and runner. He joined us on several cycle rides, went swimming in a freezing North Sea and got up at 3.30am one
… read more morning to watch the sunrise.
We enjoyed having Nathanael st stay, we had many interesting discussions and would welcome him here again anytime.
Left by host for Workawayer (Radhika)
Radhika was a great workawayer and we loved having her to stay. She was very friendly, hardworking, confident and interesting to talk to and got on so well with everyone, adults and children alike. Radhika also made some amazing curries for us using veg from the garden and gave me lots of useful tips for making them. We hope that Radhika will come
… read more and visit us again, she will always be very welcome.
Left by Workawayer (Radhika) for host
I had a wonderful stay with Julia and Dave. It was lovely to work with them and get to know them and the extended family. It was great fun to be included in family activities and outings during my time with them. Thank you for having me - I hope to see you again :)
You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by host for Workawayer (Ànnia)
We loved having Annia to stay with us and were very sad when she left. She was like one of our family and got on well with everyone. Annia is a very happy, vivacious and sensible young person and also very hard working. She was good at everything she did and did not mind pulling out thousands of thistles, also baking, making a basket, playing with
… read more small children, and even went swimming in the cold North Sea with us. Annia, if you ever come to Britain again we would love you to come and see us.
Left by Workawayer (Ànnia) for host
I stayed with Julia, Dave and Nicola only two weeks and even though it was my first work away it was amazing! Since the day I arrive I felt like part of a family helping them in anything I could. I helped in the garden, pulling out thistles, picking up blueberries and Julia teach me how to made bread, baskets, and cakes!!
I also made water fights
… read more and go to the swimming pool with Finn and Jess
I enjoyed go cycling with Dave and Jess, even though some days was a little bit hard, however the countryside was wonderful!
In addition, we went with the van to visit a lot of places as beaches, castles and some nice cities.
I recommend this family as a work away hosts I miss them a lot so if you never come to Catalonia don't hesitate to contact me!!You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by host for Workawayer (Marta )
We all enjoyed having Marta here to stay with us. She is a very happy, confident, vivacious girl who gets on well with everyone. She joined in as part of our family and was a great help with gardening, painting, and everything else. Marta is a very fast worker and also plays the guitar, sings and made a very good basket while she was here. We are
… read more missing Marta and hope she enjoys the rest of her workaway experiences. Marta is very welcome to come back and see us at any time.
Left by Workawayer (Marta ) for host
I have spent a wonderful three weeks with this family, It was really amazing! I was a bit nervous because it was my first workaway experience, but they were so kind and welcoming that I had almost felt part of the family! I enjoyed going to different parts of the countryside with their wolsvagen van. Their family is also so nice, the parents of
… read more Julia and their sons too. The work wasn't that hard, and it was rather gardening. And I had painted the windows of the cottage of Nicola!
They are a nice cooks, and Julia teach us how to cook different dishes and cakes!
When I had arrived there I had the impression that most of my stay would be cloudy and raining all the time, but it was almost the opposite. During the day was sunny and warm weather, and although it never exceeded a jacket, you could enjoy a few rays of warmth that is much appreciated.
I had a nice time there and I miss them! You have the doors open of my home in Catalonia!!You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by host for Workawayer (Veronica)
We really liked having Veronica to stay with us. She is a very kind, thoughtful and hard working girl and always smiling and willing to help. Veronica made us delicious pizzas and real pasta using our machine which was made near to where she lives. It would be lovely to see Veronica again, either in Italy or here. Veronica you are always welcome
… read more to come and stay with us again and we miss you too.
Left by Workawayer (Veronica) for host
I have spent three wonderful weeks with this family and I had a great time with them. Dave, Julia and Nicola made me feel almost part of their family and were always ready to help me with my English. They are excellent cookers, as well! During my short stay I had the opportunity to learn to cook some delicious English cakes and the family made
… read more sure I was able to visit some beautiful places in the surrounding area. The landscapes are absolutely amazing. The work isn't too hard, too, and we made frequent pauses to drink a cup of tea all together.
I highly recommend this family to anyone and I already miss them!
Should you ever come to the Italian Alps, don't hesitate to contact me :)You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by Workawayer (Julia) for host
I had a great time staying with this family. I almost felt part of the family. Especially playing music together in the evenings was really enjoyable. I miss that so much! We did also run together which was very nice.
It was a great experience to take care and play with Finn and Jess and also to work outside in the garden. There is a fantastic
… read more scenery with all the hills and the sea not far away. They also took me on a short holiday and different day trips which I liked very much. Furthermore there was always plenty of good food.
If you ever come to Germany, don't hesitate to contact me. I would love to show you the Baltic sea! ;)
You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by host for Workawayer (Julia)
Julia is a lovely girl. She got on very well with all of us here, from 18 month old Jessica to us older ones. Julia worked hard and carefully at all tasks and also was fun to have around. She is an excellent pianist and we enjoyed hearing her play our old piano( and the local church organ) and also loved playing ceilidh music with her in the
… read more evening ( Julia playing the fiddle). Julia also joined in with us on days out, cycling and walking and is a good runner herself. We really miss her and wish her well in the future.
Left by Workawayer (MegAnn) for host
This is ridiculously late feedback, but I just want to say thank you again to Julia and family and that I had a lovely time with you all. They were all so friendly and welcoming to me, and let me stay an extra week when I didn't know where to go. Their house and Northumberland in general are beautiful, and they took me on lots of day trips around
… read more the area. The work was very reasonable, usually helping with the animals or renovations on the house. Julia even taught me how to make bread & some basket-weaving. I highly recommend staying here, especially if you like countryside walks :)You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by host for Workawayer (MegAnn)
We really enjoyed having Meg to stay. She was lovely to have around and very helpful too. Meg helped us indoors and outside with anything that we asked and also played with the children, made delicious cinnamon buns and did some decorating in the cottage. We were very pleased when Meg decided to spend an extra week with us and wish her all the
… read more best in the future.
Left by host for Workawayer (Claudia)
We loved having Claudia here too. It was a shame that she was only here for a week but we got to know her very quickly and enjoyed every minute of her stay. Claudia was a great help with my report writing and also did some gardening and made some delicious cakes. She was willing to try anything and was very good at following instructions and
… read more getting on with things whilst I was at work. Claudia's English is amazing and she is an excellent helper and guest. We would welcome her back at any time.
Left by Workawayer (Claudia) for host
I only stayed with this amazing family for a week, and it truly was too short a stay. I worked around the garden a bit and also helped Julia with some school work. I loved just spending some time with the family (and the adorable children!). And despite my very short stay, they still made sure I could visit some nice places. They're a lovely
… read more family and I highly recommend them as workaway hosts!You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by host for Workawayer (Carlos )
Carlos was an extremely hard worker and did not mind doing anything that we asked, in fact it was difficult to stop him from working at meal times! He was up early every day to feed the animal and did lots of work outside as well as helping with washing up and meals inside. He was a very pleasant person to have to stay and we all enjoyed having
… read more him here. Thank you Carlos and good luck in the future.
Left by host for Workawayer (Anja & Nicole)
Anya and Nicole were fantastic workawayers. They not only worked very hard and very efficiently but they were fun to have around and we really enjoyed having them here.
Left by Workawayer (Paula) for host
It has been one of the best summers of my life thanks to the family. They are a really nice family, always disposed to help you with your English. Moreover, I had the opportunity to go for a trip with them, and it was awesome! Finn and Jessica are lovely kids, and I fancied the time playing with them and helping Julia, Dave and Nicola with the
… read more garden. I strongly recommend to everyone to visit this amazing and lovely family! I already miss them and my peaceful daily life in the farm.You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by host for Workawayer (Paula)
We were very lucky to have Paula to stay with us for 2 months. She is a lovely girl; always happy, helpful and a pleasure to have around. Paula got on well with everyone and was always willing to do anything. She worked very hard and did loads of things without having to be asked. It would be great to have Paula here again - amazing in fact!
Left by host for Workawayer (KATIA)
Katia was a fantastic workawayer. She had a go at everything from clearing out the pond to scything and playing with the children and had endless amounts of enthusiasm and initiative. We all enjoyed her being here and hope she will come and see us again.
Left by Workawayer (Charles) for host
Excellent, this word is perfect to describe my stay with you, I stayed with you during a month, but it seemed to me as one week.
I really hope to see you again and it will always be a pleasure to work for you :)
You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by host for Workawayer (Charles)
Charles came to stay with us for 4 weeks. It was a real pleasure to have him, he worked very hard and was brilliant with my daughter's 2 year old and 3 month old baby. We were very sorry to see him go and would love to have him stay with us again sometime.
Left by host for Workawayer (Candice & Kevin)
We loved having Candice to stay with us. She helped us a lot with gardening and playing with the children and was always happy, enthusiastic and a willing worker. We enjoyed showing Candice local places and would welcome her back again.
Left by Workawayer (Candice & Kevin) for host
I spent two weeks with this family and I really loved my stay with them. A nice sporty family with very lovely children! Moreover, they were nice cooks. Thanks to them I could visited a lot of places it was very nice.
Thank you too much for everything I have a really enjoy time with you and I'd love to come back next time! And if you come in
… read more France do not hesitate to call me :) You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
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Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
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Animal Care
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
House sitting
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Self development
Events & social
Politics / Social justice
Vegetarian or vegan
Sustainability
Farming
Charity work
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