A spectacular North Pennines farmhouse with 100 acres, its own power and water, and a 21-bed bunkhouse ripe for an enterprising new owner
Buyers looking to escape the hustle and bustle of city life may well find themselves craving the great outdoors — and what better place to escape to than a sprawling, eco-friendly farm in County Durham?


Much more than a house, Carrs Farm offers ‘a fantastic business and lifestyle opportunity in the heart of the North Pennines’, say agents, which is currently on the market via Finest Properties for offers over £1 million.
In the Dales village of Wolsingham on the River Wear (home to one of the oldest agricultural shows in the country, founded in 1763), the 102½-acre plot includes an attractive, three-bedroom farmhouse with an adjoining 21-bed bunkhouse (which could be converted or used for retreats or tourist accommodation).
Stables, a hay store and various other traditional and modern outbuildings, plus grassland, woodland and wildflower meadows complete the setup.
Eco-friendly features at the property include solar panels, a wind turbine and borehole water supply.
Carrs Farm is currently on the market via Finest Properties for offers over £1 million — ssee more pictures, or enquire with the agents for further details.
Wolsingham: What you need to know
Location: Near the River Wear on the eastern edge of the North Pennines AONB in County Durham. Durham is approximately 15 miles to the east and Newcastle 23 miles further north.
Atmosphere: The small market town is home to one of the oldest agricultural shows in the country, which is held on the first weekend of September. Also within the town are a number of small local businesses, including food shops, a chemist, doctors and dentist.
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Things to do: The area is perfect for those who love the great outdoors, with many footpaths and cycling routes traversing the landscape. There are caves, mountaintop viewpoints — including one nearby called 'Elephant Trees' — and more, while the beautiful little city of Durham is just over 20 minutes' drive.
Schools: Wolsingham Primary School and Wolsingham School & Community College are the local primary and secondary options, while further independent secondary options can be found closer to Durham, including Durham Johnston Comprehensive School and Durham Sixth From Centre — both rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted.
See more property for sale in the area.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
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Annunciata grew up in the wilds of Lancashire and now lives in Hampshire with a husband, two daughters and an awful pug called Parsley. She’s been floating round the Country Life office for more than a decade, her work winning the Property Magazine of the Year Award in 2022 (Property Press Awards). Before that, she had a two-year stint writing ‘all kinds of fiction’ for The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, worked in internal comms for Country Life’s publisher (which has had many names in recent years but was then called IPC Media), and spent another year researching for a historical biographer, whose then primary focus was Graham Greene and John Henry Newman and whose filing system was a collection of wardrobes and chests of drawers filled with torn scraps of paper. During this time, she regularly gave tours of 17th-century Milton Manor, Oxfordshire, which may or may not have been designed by Inigo Jones, and co-founded a literary, art and music festival, at which Johnny Flynn headlined. When not writing and editing for Country Life, Annunciata is also a director of TIN MAN ART, a contemporary art gallery founded in 2021 by her husband, James Elwes.
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