My House
The farmhouse was built around 300 years ago. Charles Griffin brought his family here in 1922 and now 3 Griffin families live in it, in separately contained units. Charles Griffin came as a tenant, but the farm is now owned and run by his grandson, Richard, and his great-grandson, Paul. I run Bed and Breakfast from the farmhouse.

Cherry
Cherry is a typical Guernsey cow. All the cows on the farm are descended from the 15 brought here from another part of the Isle of Wight by Charles Griffin. No cows are bought in from other farms, and the cows are artificially inseminated – that means that the calves are fathered by the best bulls in the world. The herd at Briddlesford has just won a national award from the English Guernsey Cattle Society for the best performing Guernsey herd in the country (based on fat plus protein content of the milk).

Cherry in the field with her sisters
The farm is a typical family dairy farm of 220 acres, (100 hectares), of pasture and arable land. 140 Guernsey cows are milked twice a day, producing 900,000 litres of Channel Island milk annually, which can be bought in any supermarket as ‘Gold Top’ milk. Grazing cows produce the beautiful pastures and landscapes that you see around you as you drive or walk around the countryside.

Richard and Solomon with calves
The calves are kept in the barn until they are 1 year old. They are fed regularly and given clean straw to sleep on to keep them healthy. Farmer Richard often takes his grandsons to help him look after the calves, so that they will learn how to care for animals. Here he is with 3 year old Solomon.

Star the Collie
Paul and his partner Christine have a collie dog called Star. She follows Paul everywhere around the farm, and loves to ride on the tractor. She rounds the cows up in the field to bring them in for milking. She is often helped by the next generation, the great-great grandchildren of Charles Griffin.

Paul milking
This is Paul milking the cows. The family take it in turns to milk. Louise, Paul’s sister, works full-time on the farm. Another sister, Izzy, a teacher, works part-time. Other family members work from time to time when it is very busy, even though they have full-time jobs away from farming, for example, during silage-making, haymaking and straw carting. Much of the field work, like grass cutting, cultivations and hedging is done by contractors, but without unpaid, uncosted work done by other family members it would be difficult for the farm to survive.

My Grandsons in the hay barn
This is the next generation. Will they farm when they grow up? Will farming be profitable in 20 years time?

The Woodland
There is also 60 acres, (25 hectares), of woodland attached to the farm as 3 different copses. The farm was awarded a Woodland Improvement grant which enables a woodsman to manage the woods. Paul Horne and his son, Danny, have cared for the woods for over 10 years and have recently won a conservation award by the National Farmers’ Union for the work done. There is evidence that one of the woods called Fattingpark Copse is ancient woodland, and non-native trees like sycamore have been cleared. Red squirrels live in this copse, the Isle of Wight being among the last habitats of the red squirrel in the U.K. 150 different species of plant have been recorded, and many different kinds of butterfly are attracted by the flowers. The old rotting trees are left and are an ideal habitat for insects and fungi.

The Farm Shop
A Farm Shop has opened at Briddlesford Lodge Farm selling unpasteurised milk, and a variety of county cheeses, dairy products, local meat and vegetables, bread and country gifts.