Chain Bridge Honey Farm: three generations of beekeeping on the banks of the Tweed

Close to the point where the Union Chain Bridge carries walkers across the River Tweed from England to Scotland, there is a farm where bees are the family business. Chain Bridge Honey Farm at Horncliffe, near Berwick-upon-Tweed, is a flourishing family business with a story that stretches back more than 75 years.

It was started in 1948 by beekeeping adviser William Selby Robson. In 1962 his son, also William but known as Willie, took up beekeeping with the aim of expanding the enterprise, buying bees from retiring beekeepers and making hives from local timber. In those days the farm produced large quantities of comb honey and liquid honey, mainly from wild white clover. William senior carried on working with bees until he was 82.

In 1973 Daphne Robson joined the business, preparing honey and delivering it to shops, and the farm grew year by year. A new honey house was built in 1982, much of its machinery salvaged from ship-breakers and still in use today, followed by a visitor centre in 1991 and a third honey house in 2007. Hive numbers have risen from 500 to nearly 1,500, spread within a 40-mile radius of Berwick, and Daphne now organises deliveries to about 350 shops.

The farm is proudly self-sufficient. Its staff construct the buildings, make the beehives, install the machinery, look after the bees and prepare the honey and beeswax products themselves. The farm employs 15 people, including Willie and Daphne and their three children, Stephen, Heather and Frances. Willie still shares his knowledge through regular beekeeping notes on the farm's blog.

The visitor centre is free to enter and is full of character. Its hand-written exhibits on bees, swarms and the products of the hive are the work of calligrapher Dorien Irving, local artist Tony Johnson painted the murals, and an observation hive lets you watch a living colony at work and hunt for the queen. There is also a Beekeeper's Garden planted for pollinators and Stephen Robson's collection of vintage vehicles, while the vintage Bristol Lodekka double-decker serves as a seasonal café.

The shop sells heather honey, comb honey, beeswax candles, polishes and skincare. The visitor centre is open daily until 1 November, then on weekdays through the winter, and the online shop and visiting details are on the Chain Bridge Honey Farm website.