Mark’s Score 9.6
I plan my vacations. I do my research, read reviews, and categorize my activities into three categories 1) must see/do, 2) try to see/do, and 3) if there is time see/do. But I am also flexible. Never dismiss serendipity, sometimes the unplanned things are the best. Brittingham Farms is one of those serendipitous places for me. It was a cold raw day in April, I was feeling house bound and needed an escape. I hadn’t been to Delaware for a while so I pulled up a map and looked for something to visit. I saw Brittingham’s icon on Google maps, though I am not into essential oils or soaps, I thought I would take a look. I am so glad I did! I spent a memorable hour at the farm.
Brittingham Farms is a 350-acre (142-hectare) multi-generational farm, purchased by the family in 1930 as a chicken/grain farm. John and Laura Brittingham are the fourth-generation of Brittinghams to run the farm. They no longer raise chickens, but the farm continues to be a working grain farm on most of its acreage. Farming is a difficult business and the pandemic caused the Brittingham’s to rethink their strategy. Four years ago, they devoted a small part of their farm to growing lavender (both English and French), and raising Leicester Longwood sheep. They also expanded their operations to include production of lavender soaps and oils, wool yarn, the preservation of the Leicester Longwood, and agritourism.
Being off-season and a cold rainy day I was the only customer on the day visited. I had hoped to go on the organized tour, but given the season, Laura was manning the retail store by herself, so I was on my own. But she did give me permission to roam about the lavender fields and visit the sheep paddock, but the distilling facility was closed. I would have liked to have seen the distilling operation, perhaps next time. Though I am not into oils or soups, they do sell other items. I make chicken fricassee from scratch my recipe calls for Herbs de Provence (which includes lavender). It is hard to find in the US, so I was delighted to find that they make their own mixture. I also make a Nova Scotia blueberry cream cake, they sell blueberry preserves infused with lavender, so I bought a jar for my cake.
After shopping I wandered through the lavender fields and visited the sheep paddock. True to their educational mission they have placards at the end of each lavender row describing the plants and their natural features. Laura waxed lyrical about her sheep and after visiting the paddock I can understand why, they are impressive animals.
What do I know about farming? Nothing. But I left impressed with Laura’s enthusiasm and in my view, this is exactly what local businesses must do to compete with the big players. I will most definitely be back, and my visit was time well spent.
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