The Drift Story - All Ideas Lead to Drift (Part 1)

When creating the website, Stuart and I both felt that having a blog was vital. We feel like it’s the perfect platform to let us share more with our lovely customers other than just through social media.

We’ve been wanting to share our story and how all ideas led to Drift for a long time, so we hope you enjoy. Please get comfy, with a hot drink and enjoy our first instalment…

It was 2005 in the kitchen of my old flat, when Stuart told me about his idea to create a wedding venue on the farm. The idea was simple, we would provide a Greenfield site and hire it out to couples looking to get married and design their own dream wedding. The USP was the location, it would take in two of the most iconic East Lothian images - Tantallon Castle and Bass Rock.

One day when I returned home after a day of primary teaching, Stuart and I made the decision that it was now or never, we had been talking about it for long enough. It was after all, six years later and we had been busy, we got married ourselves in 2007 and we just hadn’t been working on our vision.

Diversification was on the cards right from the start, Stuart knew that a 430 acre farm would not solely survive from agricultural practice alone so broadening our scope would play a huge part in supporting the farm and what would come to be two farming families within.

Harvest at Castleton Farm amongst the backdrop of Tantallon Castle

We had plenty of ideas, and by this time farm shops were on the rise so we began to look into building and creating our own shop. The idea born was called Speckled Hen - the first of our four ideas brought to the table.

The plan was a two-storey building with a farm shop on the ground floor and a cafe upstairs overlooking the beautiful views that we loved so much.

Our plans were approved in principle so we decided the next step was to do some field research. Our own ideas were not enough, we needed to conduct research into what other farms were doing across the UK.

I had experience of running a fruit shed on my family’s farm in Berwickshire and I had worked in various hospitality establishments, but running the business would be a whole other ball game so getting out there and doing some research was essential.

On our travels, we spoke to so many who kindly gave up their time to pass on snippets of wisdom to help us build a more comprehensive image of our project - and of course, we got to taste some amazing food and drink along the way.

Sadly we come to the conclusion that our plans were just too big. The location of the building, whilst with amazing views was less than ideal for a farm shop idea and the build was far too costly, posing too much of a risk.

View from the proposed Speckled Hen Farm Shop and Cafe idea

Some years passed before we started talking about another idea: Firth of Forth Larder. This time our plan was the same concept but a farm shop with a cafe much closer to the road.

In 2012, planning was approved but a couple of major life changes happened that halted proceedings. The farm was hit financially and after several years of working and living through the process, we finally adopted our two children.

Of course, our priorities changed as we adapted to life with tow little ones and all they brought with it. We didn’t stop dreaming, we simply put it on hold for the benefit of our two children.

The event space became a small focus in the meantime. Our thinking was that we would take on two to three weddings a year, the idea of being able to help facilitate a couple’s special day or big celebration was so rewarding.

Castleton Events wedding, September 2013, image courtesy of Nicola Hailstone

We looked at the idea of one last farm shop and cafe plan, this time a whole new building, circular like a shell in structure, telling more of a story and bringing my love of education in to it too.

Unfortunately cost brought this to a halt, among other things. We were to discover that a combination of location, size and working to our own limitations were to be crucial to bring our final plan to the fore and make it a reality…

To be continued…

Jo