About us, why we’re here and how it all came about:
Grandad ‘Farmer Phil’ was born at the farm when, like most farms, it was a small self-subsistent operation with some livestock and arable crops. His Uncle Ern had bought the land to mine for gravel for road-making back in the 1930s. There is a long seam of gravel in the bedrock around these parts running for around 10 miles; a deposit from a glacier in the ice age. Once all the gravel had been mined, huge holes were left which naturally filled with water, mainly from underground springs; hence the large amount of lakes you can see on the maps; and of course how the two large lakes you can now enjoy came to be Kingfisher Lakes!
Three generations of the Lee Family share life at the farm. We’re all involved in some way with the Potato Farming, Kingfisher Lakes or both; even teenager Maisie who is excellent at all things website-wise and helps out during changeovers in the school holidays; we’re a hard-working family team!
Phil and his wife Yvonne built their own home near the farmhouse and brought up their two sons, Dave & Rob here. As teenagers the boys helped their parents by working on the farm which by the mid 90s was a larger mixed farm with pigs, wheat and potatoes. Phil realised the business needed to become more niche and went down the route of specialising in the potatoes; packing them into bags and selling them into the fruit market in nearby Hull; as well as to local fish & chip shops and fruit & veg shops in Hull and the nearby towns of Driffield and Beverley.
Busy times at the farm include planting the seed potatoes in April; irrigating them day & night (if if doesn’t rain enough!) throughout the Summer; then the main harvest time starts end of September. We do harvest small quantities in July & August each week for our deliveries, so you might get to try some fresh from the ground new potatoes for your campsite evening meal!
In more recent history the idea of using an area of land between the two lakes not used for potato production, to diversify into Glamping was born. We wanted visitors to enjoy a previously unseen area of natural beauty, spot the Kingfishers and perhaps have some kayaking adventures of their own, like we do as a family. Building of the site started in 2016 with the first guests staying in the Summer of 2017.
Jo (married to youngest son Rob) is the site manager (working with our fabulous changeover team) and generally the person you’ll see for checking in when you come to stay, but the whole family is involved in some way with landscaping, maintenance and building work (when they’re not busy farming or delivering potatoes!).
Phil just so happens to be an excellent carpenter too! He has built pretty much everything you see that is made of wood; from the communal kitchen barn to the beds and walls inside the safari tents (with Yvonne being his trusty painter and decorator!).
The site has evolved to include the year-round Log Cabins so guests can experience lakeside living in all seasons, we look forward to welcoming you and hope you love the place as much as we do!
