Due to the latest Government Guidelines placing Battlesteads within the highest tier, Tier 3, we are extending our closure to align with the latest rules.

Although we are upset not to be able to welcome our fabulous guests back soon, we understand the importance of supporting the health and wellbeing of the nation.

We want to thank you for your patience at this time, and if you have an upcoming reservation with us between 2nd to 14th December 2020, we will be in touch as soon as we can.

A big thanks to all of our guests, staff and the wider community for their continued support.

From all the team, best wishes, stay safe and we hope to welcome you back soon!

Dear valued guests

Following last night’s Government update, and in line with the new lockdown restrictions for England, we will once again be closing the doors here at Battlesteads from 10pm on Wednesday 4th November.

This full closure will include the hotel, restaurants and observatory and any events which were scheduled to take place during the lockdown period.

The safety of my team members and my guests has remained my number one priority throughout this whole pandemic and, whilst I am deeply saddened by last night’s news, we must all do our bit to help try and reduce the impact of this awful virus.

We are hoping to reopen from Wednesday 2nd December, in line with the Government advice and guidance.

If you have a reservation that will be affected by the new lockdown, our team will be in touch with you as soon as possible and we will continue to operate a small reservations team throughout the lockdown period.

Please note we are currently experiencing a very high number of calls and emails and priority will be placed on guests arriving from 4^th November to 1st December.

I would like to thank you all for your continued support and understanding throughout this challenging time. Myself and the team look forward to welcoming you back when we are able to reopen.

Please stay safe and take care.

With kind regards

Katie Meyrick-Scott

General Manager

Dear Guests and Customers

We hope that you have managed to stay safe and well during this extremely testing period.

There is no doubt that, over the last three months, the world has changed; as we all adapt to the new “norm”, we has been working behind the scenes in preparation for this new approach to life.

As you’re aware, we closed on Sunday 22nd March in line with the Government directive, to ensure the safety of our guests, our suppliers and our team.

During the lockdown period, we have been looking after the gardens, making improvements and planting our vegetables in readiness of inclusion on the menu.

We have also had some wonderful engagement with our #talesofbattlesteads social media campaign, which has allowed everyone to share memories of all of those special occasions at the hotel over the past months and years.

Following the latest government announcement on 23rd June 2020. We are delighted to confirm our re-opening on 4th July 2020.

Our team is hugely excited to welcome you from Saturday 4th July, we are pleased to announce that our reservations system is now open online and ready to take your bookings for overnight stays, short breaks and dinners.

On behalf of the team, I would like to thank you for all the messages of support and for your patience during this challenging time.  We are looking forward very much to welcoming you back in the very near future.

With my best personal wishes,

Katie Meyrick-Scott

Northumberland hotel and restaurant Battlesteads, near Wark, is Brexit-proofing its new eight-course tasting menu, with a focus on home-grown produce and UK seasonality.

To ensure the availability of all dishes on the hotel’s tasting menu, which aims to offer guests a true taste of Northumberland, Battlesteads has specifically designed the new autumn/winter menu to have no reliance on ingredients or products from the EU, in case a ‘no deal’ scenario results in food and drink shortages.

The award-winning eco hotel grows much of the green vegetables, salads and herbs on the menu in its onsite gardens and polytunnels. Last year Battlesteads also introduced a temperature and humidity-controlled mushroom farm to grow oyster and shitake mushrooms all year round, and head chef Eddie Shilton also home-smokes meats, fish and cheese sourced locally.

Dishes on the new menu include a selection of in-house produced charcuterie, including Wark forest ham, saucisson sec, smoked duck, smoked brie and speck, with pickled courgettes from the garden; semi freddo and carpaccio of beetroot, with micro-herbs grown under LED lights; home-smoked salmon with lemon jelly; duck breast with savoury granola, black pudding 'prune', charred cauliflower floret and cassis jelly; a regularly changing dessert and Northumbrian cheeseboard.

The menu can also be accompanied by a flight of wines, sourced from outside the EU, and finishing with Battlesteads owner Dee Slade’s homegrown and homemade sloe gin.

Head chef at Battlesteads, Eddie Shilton, said: "Our focus has always been on showcasing the very best local and home-grown produce, and our tasting menu offers the perfect opportunity to show diners just how fantastic seasonal UK food can be. Our gardening team, grows an amazing range of vegetables, herbs and fruit, and we are lucky to have some of the best producers in the country right here on our doorstep. UK-wide, 28% of what we eat comes from the EU, but our tasting menu is a true taste of Northumberland that won’t be impacted by Brexit or our relationship with Europe."

Eco-friendly Northumberland hotel and restaurant Batlesteads is offering an evening of Burns Night celebrations in the most traditional Scottish style.

On Saturday 26 January, the Wark hotel will host a traditional four-course dinner, with an original 19th century menu by Scottish chef Meg Dodds that was prepared for the first ever Edinburgh Burns Club meeting in the early 1800s.

Known as 'the Scottish Mrs Beeton', Meg Dodds was the 19th century version of a celebrity chef, acclaimed for her Cooks and Housewives Manual of 1826.

Dinner will begin with King James' recipe for 'het kail cock-a-leekie soup', followed by the Scottish staple of rarebit haggis, served with 'neep purry' – a puree of swede, carrot and ginger.

The main course will be a het joint striploin with whole caramelised roast onion and rumbledethumps, a traditional side dish of crushed potatoes with onion, cabbage and leeks. For dessert, guests will enjoy 'ither – orra eattocks cranachan', a classic Scottish dish of raspberries with toasted oatmeal, honey and whisky cream.  

Traditional entertainment for the evening will come courtesy of Burns Night toasts and speeches, and a Northumbrian piper.

The Wark/Hexham area of Northumberland is closely associated with Burns Night – it was part of Scotland up until 1296, and Robbie Burns himself visited Hexham on his tour of the Borders in May 1787.

Battlesteads' Burns Night Dinner costs £30 per person, and starts at 7pm.

Shooting star season is almost upon us, and award-winning Northumberland hotel Battlesteads is celebrating with the return of its popular Shooting Star Suppers.

The only hotel in the UK with an on-site observatory, Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant in Wark will be hosting a series of events starting on Monday 8 October, to coincide with successive meteor showers over the coming months.

Starting at 9pm, the Shooting Star Suppers are suitable for ages 14+ and begin with a light supper of sandwiches and soup in the Battlesteads Restaurant before heading to the observatory – a Designated Dark Sky Discovery Site – for a tour and talk.

Battlesteads' expert astronomy team, led by Roy Alexander, will be on hand to explain the origins of shooting stars, meteors, comets, asteroids, and will teach you how to collect micrometeorites in your own back garden.

Then guests will settle down to watch the celestial fireworks shows, which typically peak after midnight. For any guests who would like to learn more about how to capture shooting stars with a DSLR camera, the Battlesteads team will be on hand to give you some top tips, and the observatory will be kept warm and cosy with free hot drinks – although wrapping up warm and bringing a blanket is recommended.

Shooting Star Suppers will take place on Monday 8 October, Sunday 21 October, Monday 5 November, Saturday 17 November, Thursday 13 December, Friday 21 December and Thursday 3 January; when the Draconids, Orionids, Taurids, Leonids, Geminids, Ursids and Quadrantids meteor showers are at their respective peaks.

The Draconids meteor shower on 8 October produces about 10 meteors per hour and it is produced by dust grains left behind by comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner. This year will be a particularly good time to see the shower, as there will no moonlight, and it can be seen earlier in the evening than most.

Shooting Star Suppers at Battlesteads Observatory start from £27.50pp with concessions available. Overnight stays at Battlesteads Hotel can be added from £50pp on a bed & breakfast basis.