When James and Emma Strachan decided to change how their farmland was used, never did they imagine their land would become one of the county’s most popular holiday destinations.
The duo are the masterminds behind Birds & Bees, a family-run eco campsite set in the heart of Suffolk’s Alde Valley.
Located at Rendham Hall near Aldeburgh, Framlingham and Halesworth, the farm has been in James’ family since the 1970s. But in 2016, he knew he needed to adapt and move with the needs of the landscape in order to be as sustainable as possible.
“We were a low-intensity farm, and only had around 100 cows grazing,” explains James.
The farm produced milk, ice cream and yoghurt – but as time went on, they realised there weren’t able to sustain the herd with such a low number of cows.
“We weren’t going to make it any bigger or intensive, so we decided to sell the cows and see what else we could do with the farm to cover the overheads while remaining sustainable.”
And an eco-friendly campsite proved to be the ideal solution.
“We opened during the summer of 2017, and we were pretty much fully booked for the summer holidays. It was learning curve at first, but the reception was great and we’ve had some great feedback.”
Birds & Bees takes up just 10 of the farm’s 200 acres.
“But because there’s only 16 to 17 pitches, everything is really spread out, so it feels like you’re camping in nature and not necessarily in a mown down field where you pitch anywhere.
“If you want somewhere where you can see the sunset, or if you want to be secluded, or closer to the facilities, we have that. We’re based at the start of the Alde River, and there’s a stream which runs through the treelines that heads off into the river in this gentle, rolling area. Thanks to the lie of the land, a lot of the pitches are spread out, so you can truly feel like you’re secluded.”
In keeping with the campsite’s ‘back to basics’ ethics, no cars are allowed on the meadow.
“The cars are parked in a sunken car park so they’re out of sight and out of mind. We’ve converted our old dairy building into showers, toilets, a kitchen, and a reception with a fridge. We’ve got solar panels which heat the water and this year we’ve added more panels which will cover the electricity for all of the campsite and farm.”
There are also compostable long drop loos in the meadows, and a small flock of grazing sheep.
“This is the first time we’ve had our own flock, and we’re going to be lambing them in April which will be quite nice. The way we look at it, we’re incorporating the animals in a way that improves the soil health in order to be as regenerative as possible.”
The farm also has a long-term deal with Countryside Stewardship – a government scheme which provides financial incentives for farmers and landowners to look after and improve the environment. Countryside Stewardship protects and enhances the natural environment by increasing biodiversity, improving habitats and expanding woodland areas.
“We work alongside Defra to grow nature plots. We grow a lot of bird and nectar plots, and we have whole parts of the field dedicated to planting a wide variety of flowering plants.”
Other sections are dedicated to plants which will produce seeds for the birds to feed on in the winter, which helps with the overall biodiversity.
“We’ve noticed in the last couple of years that we have nightingales in one of the meadows, which we’ve never had before. We also have a wide range of birds such as finches, yellowhammers, barn owls, and kestrels. When we were farming, we were so busy all the time that we didn’t take it in as much, but it’s been really lovely to see.”
Birds & Bees, which is open from the beginning of May and closes in the middle of September, is taking bookings for the upcoming season.
“We think it’s important to have peace, quiet and tranquillity, but after Covid when people were able to get together again, we started doing live music afternoons. They run from 4pm until 9.30pm and we have some friends who converted a retro 1960s ambulance into a mobile music bar which we use. It’s called Olive the ambulance, and it’s solar powered. It’s been very well-received and people have asked us to let them know when it’s on the farm so they can coincide their camping trip with it.”
And when the campsite is not open, James and Emma work on their other conservation projects throughout the year.
“We’ve got big hedges here, some are three to four metres high and three metres wide, housing a variety of wildlife, and they take a lot of work to keep them in that condition.”
Explaining the need to help preserve Suffolk’s natural beauty and countryside, James says: “I think Suffolk is unique because you don’t really drive through it like a lot of other counties. If you’re coming here, you’re coming for a reason – and that makes it quite special and undiscovered in a lot of ways.
“If you come to the west side of the A12, there’s so much to explore. When people come to the campsite, there’s so many lovely market towns nearby, but we’ve also got the coast. That’s the lovely thing about Suffolk.”
To find out more, visit birdsandbeescampsite.co.uk
