THE CHAMPION OAK

Tottergill Farm presides over Castle Carrock from its perch on the Penn i nes; seen and seeing for miles around. For those who come from far and wide to holiday in its converted barns, it provides a spectacular retreat, a base for exploration, a vantage point over the Solway Plain, the Lakeland and Scottish hills. Turning in through the farm gate and starting the climb up the hill, visitors pass a tree It is a Common English oak, the Champion Oak Tree 0f Cumbria, with the largest girth 0f any in the county. It may be a relic from the Forest of Geltsdale and has witnessed all that has happened on Tottergill land for possibly 800 years.

The history of Tottergill is the story of the people who have known this tree. For the most part their day’s were bound up with the seasons, the farming year, village life and the changes that affected all the lands along the border. The hand 0f history reached even this quiet backwater and left its mark in border raids, power generation, water supply and agricultural improvement.

Life at Tottergill today’ reflects current farming trends, letting out the fields 0f grass for grazing and diversifying Into tourism to generate income. The old barns and mill have found new uses as holiday homes. The great wooden beams and sandstone walls are now appreciated for their aesthetic value, more than their agricultural purpose But not so long ago, this was a working farm, where crops were grown and fed to cows and sheep, pigs. chickens and horses; where the weather dictated events, where travel was slow and change even slower.

Continue for Life before Tarmac

Tottergill Farm, Castle Carrock, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA4 9DP, ENGLAND