Strawberry Fields – but not forever

When my grandad John arrived in Saxtead in 1954, with my grandmother Muriel and their three sons, he could not have envisaged the changes that would take place on the land over the next 50 years.

In those days it was a mixed farm, arable, pigs, cattle and hens and so it continued until 1972 when his eldest son, Roger, took over the land, concentrating on the arable side and pigs. Roger had just married his wife Bobbie, and they went on to have two children, Lisa (me) and my brother Andrew, who now runs the sales and building side of Windmill Lodges (Bespoke Log Cabin Company), whilst I run the holiday lodges.

The farm continued in this way until 1988 when my parents wanted a change. Pig farming had moved on, with the emphasis being on outdoor rearing and our farm was not suitable for this so the pigs went and instead the land was given over to strawberries. So, for some years Pick Your Own reigned supreme.
                       
In addition, my parents ran a Caravan Club Certified Location site, and thought about diversifying to a bigger site. However, they decided it would not sit well in what is a very attractive location and so the idea of the Lodges was born.

Following the granting of planning permission, groundworks began in Millenium Year – suitably appropriate for a new business venture, and the first Lodge, Chaffinch, was let in 2002.

Since then we have built a further six lodges, the last one being our five star lodge Kingfisher. Mum and dad have “semi-retired” spending the majority of their time in France and are currently renovating a house.  My husband John and I along with our children have moved into the farmhouse. John has moved his business to the farm and looks after and maintains the hot tubs and pool, ably assisted by his father. We are very much a family run business with our eldest son Oliver now being shown the ropes as well.

Lisa Handley
Letting Manager