A TYNE Valley business will make sure households have the long and short of it this Christmas.

Roman Wall Christmas Trees is preparing to launch for the second successive year – after a dedicated, decade-long planting process.

It will open on Saturday (November 27) and will be open every Saturday and Sunday, until Saturday, December 18.

Set against the backdrop of Steel Rigg and the Sill National Landscape Discovery Centre, the business is offering Norway, Nordmann, and Pine tree in a wide range of different sizes to suit the needs of customers.

The seasonal venture is fronted by brothers Gary and Philip Cousin, of Haydon Bridge, and business partner Cameron Scott.

During opening hours, people are invited to explore the site, with marked footpaths offering a view of over 75,000 trees in one of the district’s most picturesque locations on Hadrian’s Wall.

Once they have chosen their trees, customers can hang a named tinsel tag around the top.

The trees come in a variety of sizes, with some up to 10ft in height.

Once selected, the trees are brought to the car park area, where they are packaged using specialist equipment for transportation.

“We were very encouraged by the response from the public last year,” said Philip. “Of course we’re looking forward to getting under way once again and welcoming people back. It’s an incredible place to come and visit.

“This has been a long-term planting process for us which has involved a lot of hard work. It is something we are very proud of and we want to send people home with the right tree for them - and a bit of Christmas cheer.”

Most customers take their trees home in car boots and trailers – they can also take home separate pots and stands if needed.

The brothers are familiar faces from their all-year-round business, Haydon Construction, as well a previous venture. Operation Paintball was based at Slaley Hall in the 1990s and later became Premier Leisure. Haydon Construction has evolved since its formation in 2006.

“We knew the Christmas trees were a long-term project,” said Gary, “we did a lot of research and visited other sites elsewhere in the UK. We’re also members of the British Christmas Tree Growers Association.”

The site, which is within a stone’s throw of Vindolanda Roman Fort, is open from 9am to 3pm Saturdays and 10am to 3pm Sundays.

Visitors are encouraged to wear wellies.

For more information or assistance, call Philip on 07861 391 415, or Gary on 07734 256 059.