The Ingram Valley Farm Safari

• The Ingram Valley Farm Safari - a unique National Park Experience in Northumberland.
• The Safari was featured on Susan Calman's Grand Day Out on C5 in October 2023.
• The Ingram Valley Safari was featured on Robson Green's Weekend Escapes on BBC2 in January 2023.
• You may wish to download or view a PDF copy of the Ingram Valley Farm Accessibility Brochure before your visit. This 14-page document covers all aspects of accessibility from arrival to departure and was prepared in partnership with Newcastle University and Ingram Valley Farm.
• Reviews: You can read our guest reviews on Google on Facebook and on Trip Advisor

The Ingram Valley Farm Safari allows visitors access and a personalised interpretation of Ingram Valley Farm, a traditional hill farm in Northumberland National Park. We discover and explore the natural history and the nationally important archaeology on our farm; in particular England’s largest Scheduled Ancient Monument, Ingram Farm. The Monument includes prehistoric to post-medieval settlements, ancient agricultural terrace systems and funerary remains.  

The Safari is though about much more than archaeology. We see the farming year unroll before us, so depending when you visit, you'll be with us when the lambs and calves are born in Spring, when the red deer give birth in June and at 'clipping time' when the sheep are sheared of their long and woolly fleeces. In late September, the deer rut begins and the roar of our red deer stags echoes across the Valley as it once did thousands of years ago. History has come full circle one might say and you can see and be fascinated about life, history and the people who farm this unique landscape on your very own Ingram Valley Farm Safari.

We are very grateful to both Historic England and Northumberland National Park and now Robson Green when he visited Ingram Valley Farm to go on our safari and he also explored the Monument for his Weekend Escapes television programme, which was first broadcast on the BBC in January 2023 and now available on the BBC iPlayer. We thank everyone for their strong support in all our efforts to make the heritage on our farm accessible to a wider and more diverse audience.  Follow the link to view the Historic England List Entry.

What is the Ingram Valley Farm Safari? Discover a world of history and adventure on our Ingram Valley Farm Safari – a National Park Experience like no other in the heart of Northumberland National Park. Your immersion into the past 12,000 years starts right here, where the glaciers of the last Ice Age melted away to reveal a beautiful tundra landscape, where deer and wild cattle once roamed and ruled this land. Prehistoric people lived in the Valley thousands of years ago and left their mark, in the form of Iron Age hillforts and Bronze Age agricultural terraces. At Wether Hill, 1,100 feet (335 metres) above sea level, you can still see circles on the ground where they built their homes. Will what we leave behind still be visible in 5,000 years? On this exclusive and unique experience, you will sit back in comfort and discover why Ingram Farm and Ingram Valley is so special. 

On our Safari, you really will travel back through time on this epic journey; you will be exploring this remarkable place in the company of an expert guide and with the family who have farmed here for over 70-years. In recent times, red deer have been re-introduced to the farm and cattle once again graze the hilltops. Immerse yourself into 6,000 years of farming history as we take you chapter by chapter through myth, legend and the history of England's largest Scheduled Ancient Monument, Ingram Valley Farm. In 2022, our oldest guest was 97, our youngest just 2, so age is no barrier if you want to join us. The Ingram Valley Farm Safari won the Bronze Award for the Experience of the Year 2022 in the North East England Tourism Awards on 24th March. We are now an Award-winning National Park Experience. Thank you to all our past guests and we look forward to welcoming new guests to this unique Experience in Northumberland National Park in the weeks and months ahead. 

On your Safari today, please meet your Safari tour guides and transport at the Ingram Bridge car park. The journey starts here with your LANTRA award tour guide and a member of the Wilson family; the Wilsons have been farming here since 1949. Your transport for the Experience is the Can-Am Traxter; it holds 6-people including the driver and it is the perfect vehicle for this experience. It is capable, comfortable, safe and lots of fun, with a storage box on the back if you would like to bring your own picnic. 

We’ll soon be heading off on safari to discover and celebrate what has shaped this part of the world for millennia and learn about how the deer, sheep and cattle play a key role in conserving and managing this special place today. We will sit on a hilltop with terrific 360-degree views, some silence perhaps and the opportunity to relax for a moment, to ask questions and take those all-important photographs. We will round off the Safari Experience at the popular Ingram Café, which has wheelchair access, toilets and some great local food of course. Within Ingram Café, you can spend some time looking at the beautiful National Park Exhibition and relive the spellbinding journey through time that you have just enjoyed in your quest to discover even more about this fascinating part of Northumberland. 

Tickets for our Spring, Summer and Autumn Safaris from 1st April to 29th October 2024
Between 1st April 2024 and 31 October 2024, the Safari is out and about in the Ingram Valley for 3-hours and we visit Ingram Café.

Tickets for our Midsummer Sunset Safaris In 2024
We will again operate our unique and popular Sunset Ingram Valley Farm Safari in Northumberland National Park. This experience will be available in June, July, August and September. We'll take you out on Safari, late in the day, on an off-road adventure to 1,100 feet (335-metres) above sea level, the summit of Cochrane Pike. This great hill has some amazing 360-degree views and from there, we'll watch the mid-summer sun set over The Cheviot Hills. The sun sets late up here, followed by a long period of dusk and as the night sky begins to wrap itself around us, we'll pause to watch the stars appear and then make our way back down from the summit to complete the Experience. You can buy something special to celebrate the moment, so you could toast the sunset with some fizz, or simply stand and stare and enjoy the moment. Please choose the Sunset Safari Ticket, look out for the dates and book well ahead to guarantee your places on this remarkable experience.

Tickets for our late Autumn and Winter Safaris
Between 1st November 2024 and 28th March 2025, we offer a two-hour Winter Safari to reflect the shorter and colder days. It's the same as the Summer Safari, but we don't like to hang around for too long in the great outdoors on chilly days in Winter. The Ingram Café is open though and it's a great place to finish your Ingram Valley Farm Safari. We do offer you free of charge, a super warm and cosy Dryrobes to wrap yourself up in on your Safari. They are guaranteed to keep you warm on Autumn and Winter days on the Ingram Valley Farm Safari.

Family tickets for our Summer and Winter Safaris
You can buy a family ticket for your Safari, and you can book for one or two adults and up to four children on the Safari. The maximum group size is 5-people, and we can take younger children under the age of 12-years, but please contact us beforehand so that we can ensure we have the right facilities and arrangements in place for them.

Gift Vouchers - ideal for Christmas, birthdays and special occasions
Lots of our guests on Safari have marked anniversaries, birthdays, graduations and engagements and a gift voucher is a great way to mark any special occasion. You can purchase a gift voucher for your friends and family by clicking on the gift voucher link. This is an automated process; you can select the amount and the voucher will be sent by email to the person you choose. The recipient can then book and redeem their gift voucher when they book their Ingram Valley Farm Safari.

An audio description of the Ingram Valley in three languages
We have provided an audio tour about the history of the Ingram Valley in English, French, Spanish and German. To hear the audio files, please click on this link and choose which language you would like to listen to. 

The Ingram Valley Farm Safari is one of just 83 curated National Park Experiences in England. This unique collection has been brought together to celebrate England's National Parks, so you are part of something very special when you join this Experience in Northumberland National Park.

Can't find the date you are looking for?
We can add more dates if needed, so if there isn't a Safari on the day you want, please get in touch and we'll do our best to ensure you get to go on Safari on the day you want.

Single tickets
At present, we cannot operate the Safari for just one guest. If you would like to book just a single ticket and we have space in the Traxter on a Safari that has for example 2/3/4 bookings, then please get in touch and we can make the booking online available for you. 

Special Occasions
The Ingram Valley Farm Safari is the perfect way to celebrate a birthday, an anniversary or that special day in your life. Please get in touch to find out how we can help you get everything you want from this unique National Park Experience. 

Covid management
The Traxter, the vehicle that takes you on the Safari is cleaned and disinfected before every outing. It has a well ventilated and open cab ensuring plenty of fresh air is allowed to blow through and we provide hand sanitiser as well. If you have any questions about Covid, then please get in touch with the Safari team and we will do our very best to provide the assurance you are looking for.

• Our Safari guides are assessed by and hold the appropriate Award in the use and operation of our All Terrain Vehicle. The Award issuing body is LANTRA.
• All our Safari guides hold a current First Aid qualification
• There are disabled parking spaces at the Ingram Café and at Bulby's Wood; the latter is 0.5 miles from Ingram Bridge car park
• Ingram Café has a 5 Star Certified Food Hygiene rating
• Ingram Café and Information Centre and the car park at Bulby Wood have toilets and disabled toilets

Reviews: You can read our guest reviews on Google on Facebook and on Trip Advisor
"Our family of 4 with a 7+10year old had a great time on the experience. The team were prepared to wrap us up warm on the windy day. The Traxter was great fun for the kids with some awesome views of the Northumberland National Park. Patrick really made the experience with great information about the history and landscapes. The red deer were beautiful as was the huge bull! An awesome way to see the Northumberland National Park for all the family. Thanks again".

We booked the safari as a treat for ourselves, celebrating a special occasion. Patrick and Rebecca made our whole tour the highlight of our holiday. We didn't expect a safari in Northumberland to be as exciting. We had fabulous views, beautiful wild flowers, birds and animals a plenty.... It was lovely getting so close to the deer too. Highly recommended".

What a wonderful experience this was. Both my mother, 93 years old, and I sooo enjoyed this afternoon in every way. We received such a warm welcome from Rebecca and Ross who are putting their all into regenerating and protecting this beautiful valley and their glorious surrounding hills. The special 4x4 Safari buggy was comfortable and felt so safe as we were driven up through the grassy, wild flower and bracken slopes. At a thousand feet above sea level we enjoyed endless all round magnificent views. Patrick gave us such helpful information about all the historic Roman sites we visited there and he made the close up encounters with all the fabulous animals really special. Patrick's cheerful and caring disposition made the day! Our picnic was yummy. It was all value for money and we highly recommend this safari tour".

Despite the rain!! we started the day at the car park and immediately spotted a splendid red squirrel. 

We were on the first Wet Safari but we were prepared for the weather and can honestly say it didn’t spoil it at all . Patrick was an excellent host with great knowledge about Northumberland and the farm which is obviously managed with extremely high standards in a sympathetic and sustainable way .Patrick showed us Bronze & Iron age settlements still in evidence after thousands of years ....being able to get close to the animals especially the Red Deer and the Splendid Stags was amazing. I booked the Safari as a Birthday treat for my Husband Alex and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. I would highly recommend this unique experience in a very beautiful and special place Northumberland.
 
Inclusions
What's Included
🚆 Transportation - A Can-Am Traxter off road safari vehicle
🥤 Drink - Please bring a bottle of water with you. Ingram Valley Farm and Footsteps in Northumberland discourage the use of single use plastic bottles.
🧰 Equipment - We can lend you a super warm and waterproof Dryrobe for your Safari.
 
What you'll need
🧤 Warm Clothing - Please dress for the weather, on cooler days please bring a coat, a woolly hat and some gloves. On warm and sunny days, a sun hat is useful, but please do bring a fleece jacket or similar. We can provide super warm Dry Robes for cold and windy days.
☂️ Waterproofs - A waterproof and warm coat is always worth having with you. A small rucksack or bag to put your stuff into is useful on the day.
📋 Other - Suncream, sunglasses, antihistamines (there are a lot of wildflowers at certain times of the year), cameras and binoculars for the beautiful scenery.