Fullbrook Farm Campsite
Camping in Lichfield, Staffordshire

Fullbrook Farm dates back to the early 19th Century, and has been owned and farmed by members of the Baskerville family for over a century. The farm is named after the stream which runs through its land - "Full Brook".

Today the farm is a thriving and varied environment, undertaking a careful blend of traditional farming pursuits with the diversification that 21st century farming requires. Below we introduce some of the Fullbrook residents and describe the things you are likely to see during your stay, and also give an insight into the work we do.

Fullbrook is home to a small herd of cattle, with a few Simmentals, Aberdeen Angus crosses and a number of Belted Galloways. "Belties" as they are known, are a hardy breed that originated on the exposed uplands of Galloway, in the south west of Scotland. The Belties are unmistakable as they are black coated with a characteristic white belt which completely encircles their body. They have a double coat of long hair, to shed the rain, and soft undercoat, for warmth. Our belties are all registered with the Belted Galloway Cattle Society, though we must admit that the Baskerville humour crept in when naming them on their passports. Our beltie breed includes the individuals Fullbrook Fiona, Fullbrook Florence and Fullbrook Fanny! Fullbrook Florence is the calf shown on the right. She was born at Fullbrook in the spring of 2006, but she's a lot bigger now.

On the farm you are also likely to see our flock of sheep. Visitors to the campsite in March and April usually witness one of the most exciting and happiest times of year - lambing season. Around a hundred lambs are born at Fullbrook each spring, with the lambs and their mothers brought indoors for a few weeks before being released back to the main flock out in the fields. The lambs are great fun to watch as they skip around and play together. Unfortunately there are always one or two lambs who are born slightly worse off than their counterparts - those which, for one reason or another, become orphans or "cades". Here at Fullbrook the cade lambs usually get the best deal. These lambs are bottle fed for the first few weeks of their life, and they're often given names by our campers and visitors. Because of bottle feeding the cades become very tame, and the people holding the bottle usually become equally fond of their little charges. Sometimes, early in the season, campers can help to bottle feed the lambs. If you have the chance to do this during your visit please make sure you wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.

Our flock of sheep includes a number of Texels, Charolais and Suffolks, many of which were Fullbrook lambs. One or two of the sheep are a Dutch breed called Zwartbles. Zwartbles are a little funny looking with mainly black wool, but white socks and a white stripe on their heads. Here's a photo of a pair of Zwartbles. See if you can spot them out in the fields when you visit.

There are two dogs resident on the farm. Nellie, the collie, is a rescue dog originally found roaming the streets of Rhyl. She is extremely playful but knows very little about rounding up sheep. She is quite partial to bananas and slices of toast, though she's never tried them together. Then there's Nellie's sidekick, Jim. Jim has a little goaty beard and does a great impersonation of a patterdale terrier even though he's not one. He likes toast too. (Campers beware!)

There are a wide variety of horses and ponies kept at the farm, in their stables and out in the fields. Fullbrook is home to two Highland ponies, mother and son, Bonnie and Bob. Bob is shown at the top right corner of our website pages. Here is Sheila Baskerville driving Bob's mother, Bonnie (and giving Jim a ride too). We must stress that whilst horses are kept at Fullbrook Farm, we are not a riding school or trekking centre. Riding facilities are available nearby though - see our Attractions Page for further details and web links.

Fullbrook is home to many other species. In the garden we have lots of chickens, and Sooty the cat is our resident mouse catcher. We also have two tractors and a landrover.

The local wildlife are too numerous to mention. Owls and foxes can often be seen at night, and during the daytime swallows swoop in and out of the barns to reach their nests. As members of the DEFRA Countryside Stewardship Scheme we actively encourage wildlife to inhabit the farm by installing nesting boxes in suitable places and undertaking tasks such as hedge laying. We have planted new hedgerows and set aside areas of woodland and ponds purely for the benefit of the local wildlife. We try to farm the land using sympathetic techniques. In 2010 Fullbrook won the Whitgrove Trophy for conservation in farming. This is a Staffordshire and Shropshire regional award by the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG). Click here to find out more about FWAG.