# Ford and Etal With Kids: Heatherslaw Railway, Etal Castle and the Scarycrow Trail

*A steam train, a free castle, a corn mill and a week of scarecrows, all within a couple of miles in the Till valley. Here's how to do Ford and Etal with children before most of it closes for winter.*

By Dan Fitzpatrick, Bairns & Beaches. Updated Tuesday 6 October 2026. Canonical: https://bairnsandbeaches.co.uk/guides/ford-and-etal-with-kids.html

**The short answer:** Ford and Etal is a pair of estate villages in north Northumberland with the Heatherslaw Light Railway (a steam train running daily until 1 November 2026, adult return £12.50, child £6), Etal Castle (free, English Heritage), Heatherslaw Corn Mill and the Hay Farm Heavy Horse Centre. Parking is free in Ford, Etal and Heatherslaw, and the Scarycrow Trail runs from 26 October to 1 November 2026.

Checked 6 October 2026. Dates and prices change, so the organiser's link is the one to trust.

Ford and Etal is two estate villages in the Till valley in north Northumberland, between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Wooler, and it is one of the best small days out in the county for children. There's a narrow gauge steam railway, a castle ruin you can wander round for free, a water-powered corn mill, a heavy horse centre, a Victorian schoolroom covered in murals, and a battlefield where a king died. All of it sits within a few miles, which matters when your passengers start asking "are we there yet" before the handbrake is off.

This guide covers Ford and Etal with kids: what each place costs, where to park, which bits are free, the Scarycrow Trail at October half term, and a few quieter spots nearby that most visitors drive straight past. One timing warning up top: the railway's last day of the season is Sunday 1 November 2026, so if the train is the main event, go before then.

## Ford and Etal with kids: the short version

- Heatherslaw Light Railway runs daily until 1 November 2026. Return fares: adult £12.50, child (2 to 15) £6, family of four £34, under 2s and dogs free. No booking needed.
- Etal Castle is free, open daily 10am to 5pm, with a car park and seasonal toilets.
- The Famous Scarycrow Trail runs from Monday 26 October to Sunday 1 November 2026. The trail is free; the map and score sheet are by donation.
- Parking is free in Etal, Heatherslaw and Ford, with disabled parking in all three.
- There's a flat off-road path of about 1.5 miles between Heatherslaw and Etal, so you can walk one way and take the train back.
- The estate is dog friendly, and dogs ride the train for free.
- Ford and Etal Christmas Market is Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November 2026, 10am to 4pm.

## Where is Ford and Etal?

The two villages sit a couple of miles apart on the River Till, a few miles south of the Scottish border and inland from Holy Island. Etal is the one with the castle, Ford is the one with the bigger castle (private, sadly) and Lady Waterford Hall, and Heatherslaw sits in between with the mill and the railway station. The whole lot belongs to the Ford and Etal Estates, which is why the website, the map and the signs all match up nicely, a rare treat in rural Northumberland.

You need a car to do it properly. Most of it is walkable once you're there, but the Scarycrow organisers say themselves that to see every scarecrow you might need to drive to one or two out of the way spots. Pack wellies. The Till valley is beautiful and also, in October, mostly made of mud.

## Heatherslaw Light Railway: is it worth it?

### Heatherslaw Light Railway (Heatherslaw)

This is the headline act. A little steam train runs along the River Till between Heatherslaw and Etal, a round trip of about four miles, taking roughly 20 to 25 minutes each way. Trains leave Heatherslaw at 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm, and Etal half an hour later each time. You don't need to book, and they take cash and cards.

Is it worth it? For under 8s, yes. It's short enough that nobody gets bored, long enough to feel like a proper journey, and the whole thing chugs along at about the speed of a determined toddler. The station has model railways and paper and crayons for drawing while you wait. For a family of four, £34 return is fair for a steam train ride, and it doubles as transport if you walk the riverside path one way.

The railway says it's wheelchair accessible, with two wheelchair compartments on the train, and the estate says the adapted carriages have room for pushchairs too.

- Price: Return: adult £12.50, child 2 to 15 £6, family of four £34, family of three £29, under 2s and dogs free
- Parking: Gravel car park at Heatherslaw, with three hard-standing disabled spaces
- Toilets: No public toilets at the station itself, per the railway's FAQ; accessible toilets at the visitor centre
- Check first: Last day of the 2026 season is Sunday 1 November
- Website: https://www.heatherslawlightrailway.co.uk/

> Twenty minutes on a steam train is roughly the exact attention span of a six year old. Somebody at Heatherslaw has done the maths.

## Etal Castle: is it free?

### Etal Castle (Etal)

Yes. English Heritage looks after Etal Castle and it's free to wander, open daily 10am to 5pm. Robert Manners built it in the mid 14th century as a defence against Scots raiders, and in 1513 it fell to James IV's army just before the Battle of Flodden, a few miles down the road. What's left is a gatehouse and a big broken tower, with grass round it for a picnic. The estate says there's a book box for children and picnic tables for castle visitors.

The shop and museum have closed, so there's nothing to buy and nowhere to hide from the rain. Allow 30 to 45 minutes, which is about how long the storming of the walls lasts before someone asks about ice cream.

- Price: Free
- Parking: Car park on site
- Toilets: Seasonal toilets in the car park, run by the estate
- Buggy access: Partly: grassy, uneven ground that's slippery when wet
- Check first: Dogs on leads; no shop or cafe
- Website: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/etal-castle/

## The Scarycrow Trail at October half term

### The Famous Scarycrow Trail (Ford)

From Monday 26 October to Sunday 1 November 2026, the villages fill with home-made scarecrows of the spooky (or at least mildly alarming) variety. You pick up a trail map and score sheet from one of the village shops, or download it the week before, then walk round giving marks. Hand your sheet in at a village venue and the combined scores decide the winner, so for once the children's opinion is officially the one that counts. The trail is free, and the map money goes to a local charity.

There are also free Ghostly Walks at 6pm on Monday 26, Wednesday 28 and Friday 30 October, meeting outside Ford Village Shop, with donations to the Ford Christmas lights. It'll be properly dark by then, since the clocks go back on 25 October, so bring a torch and a hand to hold.

The scarecrows are visible any time, but daylight is better for actually seeing them, and for not walking into a hedge.

- Price: Free; donation for the map and score sheet
- Parking: Free parking in Etal, Heatherslaw and Ford, with disabled parking in all three
- Buggy access: Mostly walkable on village roads; a couple of entries may need a short drive
- Check first: 26 October to 1 November 2026; download the map the week before
- Website: https://www.ford-and-etal.co.uk/events/the-famous-scarycrow-trail-2026/

Half term in Northumberland runs from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, so the trail lines up neatly with the last week of the railway. A good half-term day: walk part of the trail in Etal in the morning, catch a train to Heatherslaw, do the mill or the horses, then pick up the rest of the scarecrows in Ford. The railway hasn't listed a Halloween special this year, so don't promise anybody a ghost train.

## More to do at Ford and Etal with kids

### Heatherslaw Corn Mill (Heatherslaw)

A working water mill by the railway station, where the estate says visitors can operate the hoist and grind their own flour. For children there's a mouse trail, a Junior Miller's Quiz, a Dough Zone and dressing-up clothes, plus a grass paddock and a sandpit outside. It's one of those places that sounds dull to a seven year old right up until they're allowed to touch a lever.

The mill is a Grade II listed building reached by stairs, so the estate says it isn't accessible to wheelchair users. The Corn Mill Coffee House is next door.

- Price: Estate page lists adult £5, child 5 to 18 £2, family (2 adults and 3 children) £12, under 5s free
- Parking: Heatherslaw car park, free
- Buggy access: No: stairs inside the mill
- Check first: The estate's opening page still shows last year's season; ring 01890 820488 before you go
- Website: https://www.ford-and-etal.co.uk/heritage/heatherslaw-corn-mill/

### Hay Farm Heavy Horse Centre (Ford)

Between Ford and Etal on the B6354, this is a rare breed centre for Clydesdale heavy horses, with one of the largest collections of horse-drawn machinery, and other rare breed animals in the fields. There are carriage rides, a home-made cafe and a gift shop. Clydesdales are enormous and gentle, which makes them the ideal animal for children who like big things but don't like being chased.

The estate lists it as open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, March to November, closed Mondays except bank holidays.

- Price: £7.50 per person, children free; carriage rides adult £5, child £3
- Parking: Signed visitor parking on site
- Toilets: Yes, with disabled access
- Check first: Closed Mondays; the listing doesn't give a closing date in November
- Website: https://www.ford-and-etal.co.uk/attractions/hay-farm-heavy-horse-centre-approved-rare-breed-conservation-centre/

### Lady Waterford Hall (Ford)

Ford's old village school, with walls covered in biblical murals painted by Louisa, Lady Waterford, in the Victorian era. She used local children as her models, which is a fun thing to tell your own children before they start looking for faces that look like their classmates. The estate says there are quizzes, drawing and slates to write on just as the pupils did, and the estate lists the hall among its places to eat.

Entry has been free with donations welcome. Visit Northumberland lists it as wheelchair accessible with parking and toilets.

- Price: Free, donations welcome (groups asked for £3 each)
- Parking: Car park in Ford village
- Toilets: Yes
- Check first: Hours have been shorter in October in past seasons; check the estate site
- Website: https://www.ford-and-etal.co.uk/heritage/lady-waterford-hall/

## Flodden Battlefield

### Flodden Battlefield (Branxton)

On 9 September 1513, on the slopes of Branxton Hill, the English army defeated the Scots, and around 10,000 Scots died, including King James IV and most of his nobles. Today it's open fields and a granite cross put up in 1910, with a battlefield trail and information boards kept up by the Remembering Flodden Project, a charity.

This one is better for older children than the six and seven year old crowd, who may struggle with the idea that a field can be important. It's free and open access, but the Ecomuseum says there are no facilities other than parking.

- Price: Free
- Parking: Flodden Monument car park, 400m west of St Paul's Church, Branxton (TD12 4SN)
- Toilets: None; use the ones at Etal or Heatherslaw first
- Check first: Open fields; muddy after rain
- Website: https://www.flodden1513ecomuseum.org/places/local/flodden-field

## Quieter places near Ford and Etal

These are free, a short drive away, and rarely on anybody's list. They suit a family that has done the train and wants a walk, or a grown-up who wants ten minutes of quiet.

### Ford Moss Nature Reserve (Ford)

A Northumberland Wildlife Trust reserve 2.5km east of Ford: a raised bog and heathland with sphagnum moss, sundew (a tiny meat-eating plant, which goes down very well with small biologists) and cotton grass. In the middle stand the brick chimney and engine house of Ford Moss Colliery, which worked from at least the 17th century until around the First World War. The estate says you can still spot rhubarb that grew in the miners' cottage gardens.

A circular route uses bridleways and permissive paths. The Trust is clear that the ground is very uneven and wet in many places, even on the paths, so wellies and no buggy.

- Price: Free, open all year
- Parking: Limited verge parking outside the reserve entrance (TD15 2QA)
- Buggy access: No: boggy, uneven ground with small boardwalks
- Check first: Dogs on a lead; no toilets listed
- Website: https://www.nwt.org.uk/nature-reserves/ford-moss

### Duddo Five Stones (Duddo)

A 4,000-year-old stone circle on a hilltop north of Etal, with five stones still standing (there were seven; excavation in the 1890s found the sockets of the missing two). It's signed from Duddo village and reached by a walk of about half an hour across farmland, which Duddo Farm kindly allows. The views across to the Cheviots are huge, and there's no better place to ask a six year old how they think people moved giant rocks without a van.

Park considerately: Visit Berwick warns the lane is narrow.

- Price: Free
- Parking: Grass verge in Duddo (TD15 2PS)
- Buggy access: No: field paths
- Check first: Farmland, so keep dogs on a lead and close gates
- Website: https://www.visitberwick.com/where-to-go/duddo-stones/

### Norham Castle (Norham)

A bigger, grander English Heritage ruin above the River Tweed, with Scotland on the far bank. It was besieged at least 13 times, once for nearly a year by Robert the Bruce, and fell to James IV's cannon in 1513 on the same campaign that took Etal. Turner painted it over and over, which is more than he ever did for my car park photos.

It's free. English Heritage says it's open daily 10am to 4pm, until 6pm through October, and parts of the inner castle have been closed for conservation work, so it's a shorter visit than it looks from the road.

- Price: Free
- Parking: Car park on site, locked in the evening
- Buggy access: No: uneven, muddy ground with steep slopes and drops
- Check first: Check the English Heritage page for closures before a long drive
- Website: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/norham-castle/

## Where to eat at Ford and Etal

### Lavender Tearooms (Etal)

In Etal village, a short walk from the castle and the railway's Etal end. Morning coffee, light lunches, afternoon teas, home-made scones and lavender cake, plus Border tart and singing hinnies (a griddle scone that sizzles as it cooks, hence the name, and a fine Northumbrian word to teach the bairns). It doubles as the village shop and post office, which is handy if somebody forgot the snacks. I'm not naming names.

- Price: Check the menu on the day
- Parking: Etal village parking, free
- Toilets: Check on arrival
- Check first: April to October 2026: Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm, weekends 10am to 4pm
- Website: https://lavendertearooms.org.uk/

The estate also lists the Corn Mill Coffee House at Heatherslaw, Ford Village Tearoom, the Black Bull at Etal (Northumberland's only thatched pub), the Blue Bell Inn at Crookham and the Red Lion at Milfield. Opening times for those weren't on the estate's page, so check each one before you plan lunch around it.

## Ford and Etal at Christmas

### Ford and Etal Christmas Market (Ford)

On Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November 2026, 10am to 4pm, the Christmas market spreads across four hubs in Ford, Etal and Heatherslaw, with stalls, entertainment, activities and decorations. Then the Heatherslaw Light Railway's Christmas Special starts on Saturday 5 December, which is the only time of year the train runs after the season ends.

- Price: Check the organiser's page
- Parking: Free parking in all three villages
- Buggy access: Village roads; expect crowds
- Check first: Christmas Special dates and booking on the railway's site
- Website: https://www.ford-and-etal.co.uk/events/ford-etal-christmas-market-2026/

## A day plan for Ford and Etal with kids

- Park at Etal (free). Look round the castle while everyone still has the energy for walls.
- Walk the off-road path to Heatherslaw, about 1.5 miles. Small legs can do it in under an hour if somebody promises cake at the end.
- At Heatherslaw: the corn mill, the sandpit and a drink at the coffee house.
- Train back to Etal (buy a single or a return at the station).
- Lunch at the Lavender Tearooms, then the heavy horses or Lady Waterford Hall in the afternoon.
- If the light holds and anyone is still awake, Duddo Five Stones on the way home.

On a wet day, keep the indoor bits (mill, horse centre exhibition, Lady Waterford Hall) and swap the walk for the train both ways. On a dry, cold one, it's the best few miles of countryside in the north of the county, and you'll probably have it largely to yourselves outside the holidays.

## Is Ford and Etal worth visiting?

Yes, especially with children under 10. It's compact, the parking is free, the castle and the battlefield cost nothing, and the railway is cheap by steam train standards. The downsides are honest ones: most of it shuts for winter from early November, the castle has no cafe or shop any more, and you'll want a car to tie it all together. Go in the last week of October for the scarecrows and the final trains, or late November for the market.

## Questions people ask

**Is Heatherslaw Light Railway worth it?** For young children, yes. It's a steam train ride of about 20 to 25 minutes each way along the River Till between Heatherslaw and Etal, and a family of four return costs £34.

**How much is Heatherslaw Railway?** Return fares in 2026 are £12.50 for an adult, £6 for a child aged 2 to 15, £34 for a family of four and £29 for a family of three. Under 2s and dogs travel free.

**Is Etal Castle free?** Yes. Etal Castle is looked after by English Heritage, free to enter and open daily from 10am to 5pm, though its shop and museum have closed.

**Where is Ford and Etal?** Ford and Etal are two villages on the River Till in north Northumberland, between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Wooler and a few miles from the Scottish border. Heatherslaw, with the mill and the railway station, sits between them.

**Is there parking at Heatherslaw?** Yes. There's a free gravel car park at Heatherslaw with three hard-standing disabled spaces, and free parking in Ford and Etal too.

**When is the Scarycrow Trail?** The Famous Scarycrow Trail 2026 runs from Monday 26 October to Sunday 1 November across Ford and Etal. The trail is free, with a donation for the map and score sheet.

**Is Ford and Etal dog friendly?** Yes. The estate describes itself as dog friendly, dogs travel free on the Heatherslaw Light Railway, and dogs on leads are welcome at Etal Castle and the Hay Farm Heavy Horse Centre.

## Sources

- Heatherslaw Light Railway: timetable and fares: https://www.heatherslawlightrailway.co.uk/
- Heatherslaw Light Railway: FAQ: https://www.heatherslawlightrailway.co.uk/faq
- English Heritage: Etal Castle: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/etal-castle/
- English Heritage: Norham Castle: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/norham-castle/
- Ford and Etal Estates: https://www.ford-and-etal.co.uk/
- Ford and Etal: The Famous Scarycrow Trail 2026: https://www.ford-and-etal.co.uk/events/the-famous-scarycrow-trail-2026/
- Ford and Etal: Christmas Market 2026: https://www.ford-and-etal.co.uk/events/ford-etal-christmas-market-2026/
- Ford and Etal: families and children: https://www.ford-and-etal.co.uk/families-and-children/
- Ford and Etal: Heatherslaw Corn Mill: https://www.ford-and-etal.co.uk/heritage/heatherslaw-corn-mill/
- Ford and Etal: opening times and prices: https://www.ford-and-etal.co.uk/opening-times-prices/
- Ford and Etal: Hay Farm Heavy Horse Centre: https://www.ford-and-etal.co.uk/attractions/hay-farm-heavy-horse-centre-approved-rare-breed-conservation-centre/
- Ford and Etal: Ford Moss Colliery: https://www.ford-and-etal.co.uk/heritage/ford-moss-colliery/
- Ford and Etal: eateries: https://www.ford-and-etal.co.uk/eateries/
- Visit Northumberland: Lady Waterford Hall: https://www.visitnorthumberland.com/explore/things-to-do/culture/museums/lady-waterford-hall
- Flodden 1513 Ecomuseum: Flodden Field: https://www.flodden1513ecomuseum.org/places/local/flodden-field
- Northumberland Wildlife Trust: Ford Moss: https://www.nwt.org.uk/nature-reserves/ford-moss
- Visit Berwick: Duddo Stones: https://www.visitberwick.com/where-to-go/duddo-stones/
- Wikipedia: Duddo Five Stones: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duddo_Five_Stones
- Lavender Tearooms, Etal: https://lavendertearooms.org.uk/