Some of the team on our london bus

The Chain Bridge Honey Farm is a flourishing family business, started by beekeeping advisor William Selby Robson in the late 1940s.

After leaving school, his son, also William but known as Willie, chose to take up beekeeping with the aim of expanding his father’s enterprise, not only by increasing the number of hives, but also the diversity of products.

He became a commercial bee-farmer, which although common in continental Europe and the likes of Canada , Australia and New Zealand , is less common in the British Isles .

Today Willie, with his beekeeper son Stephen, keep almost 2,000 hives of bees, all within a 40-mile radius of the honey farm, just west of Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Willie’s wife Daphne joined the honey business in the 1970s, having spent her years following school travelling the world as a nursery nurse. Nowadays most people who telephone the honey farm will speak to Daphne, who is responsible for organising honey deliveries to about 350 shops.

Their daughters Heather and Frances are both involved in the business, packaging honey and making products, such as cosmetics and soap. Frances ’s latest project is running the farm’s Honey Bus Café.

Ten further members of staff are engaged in beekeeping; making candles and furniture polish; producing honey mustard and supervising the honey farm’s visitor centre and vintage vehicles.