We visited The Chain Bridge Honey Farm on a sunny September afternoon.
The Chain Bridge Honey Farm at Horncliffe is a thriving family business started in 1948 by William Selby Robson. It is housed in a traditional olde worlde building amongst the North Northumberland Countryside just steps from the Scottish Border. The Honey Farm beekeepers tend over 1600 hives around Northumberland and The Scottish Borders and produce around 50 tonnes of honey a year. It's speciality is Heather Honey and Comb Honey.
Parking is on the roadside. The Honey Farm Visitor Centre is built into the hillside, access is by steps. However, there are excellent, railed, wooden ,ramp, walkways with gradual gradients, providing wheelchair access or for people with walking difficulties. Admission to the Chain Bridge Honey Farm is free.
As you enter the honey farm you go into the Visitor Centre Shop. This room contains an extra long wooden table on which a variety of goods are for sale. These include many different types of honey, food containing honey for example, biscuits, cakes. Beauty products containing honey – face creams, lip salve (the lip salve I bought was superb), hair products, body creams, to name a few. There are household products made from beeswax such as furniture polish and the most delightful candles. The honey products on sale are all handmade on site.
Around the perimeter of the room is a wooden counter containing books, leaflets and information on bees, their behaviour, bee communication, beekeeping, hives, honey and local information. The information display is in its self a work of art – it is all handwritten by a l calligrapher. Pictures and photos of bees and bee related activities are displayed on the walls.
Move on and you come to an observation hive where you can watch a colony of bees living their lives. It is fascinating to watch.
The next two rooms contain more information on bees and their lives as well as a display of local information and maps created over a ten year period by Horncliffe artist Tony Johnson.
A display called Web of Iron is also exhibited. This gives the history of The union Chain Bridge which is just 250 metres from the door of the Chain Bridge Honey Farm. The Union Chain Bridge links England to Scotland and is now the oldest chain suspension bridge in the world to carry vehicles.
Outside at the rear of the property you will find a double decker bus which is called the Honey Bus Café. Here you can sit and enjoy a variety of light snacks many created using their honey as well as products from local food producers such as ice cream laced with Honey Heather from the local Doddington Dairy.
The Robson family have an interest in vintage vehicles. On land adjoining the farm is a large display of vintage vehicles providing an unusual extra exhibition for those interested in vintage vehicles.
Apart from the nearby Union Change Bridge, local attractions include the stately home of Paxton House and its magnificent grounds, the Northumbrian and Scottish countryside and coast.
We combined our trip to the Honey Farm with a visit to the Union Chan Bridge and I have written a separate review. The Union Chain Bridge for those wanting more information on this unique bridge.
