ON the two occasions I met him, which were a while ago now so he may not recall them, Philip Clift struck me as too Bohemian to be a farmer. Sure, he had the pedigree – three generations of the Clift family growing hops in the picturesque Teme Valley west of Worcester saw to that.

But there was something about Philip and his mellow manner that had you drifting off to the laid back world of leather sandals, sunshine and the Left Bank. And I don’t mean the left bank of the river Teme.

In fact, this crop of the Clift family all travel to the beat of a different drum. Philip’s sisters Wiz and Annie are both charismatic, strong-minded characters too, and among several slightly eccentric achievements, the pair recently walked 230 miles from North Wales to Knightwick accompanied by three donkeys.

In the process they got sore feet, unexpectedly sunburnt and raised more than £5,000 for three charities. But more of that later.

Life has certainly veered off on a tangent, several actually, for the brother and sisters who grew up in a typical Worcestershire farming household in the 1950s and 60s.

Home was the eye-catching black and white 16th century Lulsley Court. Beautiful to look at, but at times draughty to live in, it lay in a bend of the river Teme surrounded by green fields and wooded hills.

Childhood days were spent riding on tractors, riding on ponies, helping at haymaking and hoppicking and generally being outdoor children.

But the world was changing and the face of English agriculture with it. Philip eventually took over the farm and by the 1990s it was clear the style of hop growing at Lulsley was under threat.

He liked to specialise in high quality hops for top quality beers and ales, but the general public was showing an increasing preference for lager, which mostly uses the cheapest possible hops.

By then his mother and sisters, in a fit of enthusiasm, had taken over the Talbot at Knightwick, the local village hotel/pub, rather than see it closed and the community lose it.

They had even opened an adjacent small beer-making operation called the Teme Valley Brewery, which took hops straight from the Clift bines. But Philip could sense the way of the wind and in 1999 everything changed for him with an opportunity to sell the farm.

He saw this as a chance for a new direction so sold up, bought a yacht and spent five years sailing around the Caribbean with his wife Annie.

Knee deep in Worcestershire muck and mud it was decidedly not.

While the couple were enjoying getting to know each of the islands, they happened across a piece of land on the beach in Grenada with marvellous views. A vision was born.

“I could see the land had great potential and knew that other people would want to see this view over the Grenadines,” said Philip.

So they bought the land, sold the yacht and started to build an 11- room hotel nestled into the greenery of the hillside.

“It seemed the next logical step to take,” he said. “We’d had enough of sailing around in the yacht. We had been taking in some guests as a charter boat, but living in a confined space isn’t always easy.

“We thought we’d use our hosting and entertaining skills in another way and this piece of land was perfect for a hotel.

“However, building it was quite a challenge. We had to bring in equipment from England, materials from all over the Caribbean and my managing skills were used to their full!”

The build took almost two years to complete and resulted in nine cottages and two suites, each with its own veranda overlooking the beach. The hotel was officially opened in 2009 by the Prime Minster of Grenada.

The site certainly is something. It overlooks a palm-studded beach across the Caribbean Sea to a line of islands on the horizon. The restaurant has a large veranda that catches the onshore breeze, the staff are attentive and the gardens are full of tropical flowers.

“We’ve held 19 weddings here now and we use these flowers to create a romantic arch over the couple,” Annie said.

“Living in Grenada is a dream, the people are friendly and our staff our great.” Annie is involved in supporting several local causes, including an orphanage, in addition to hosting guests at the hotel.

As a nod to Philip’s farming roots, the boutique Petite Anse Hotel is known for growing its own produce for the restaurant or alternatively, it is sourced from local suppliers when possible. For more information, visit petiteanse.com.

Meanwhile, back in the UK his two sisters have been equally busy.

The pair walked from Wiz’s home in Llangernyw in North Wales to the Talbot using ancient droving tracks and bridleways wherever they could and stayed the night at farms along the way, all the time accompanied by Wiz’s three donkeys.

“I had been complaining to myself I had no challenge for this winter, so Wiz and I sat down and decided to do a charity walk with the donkeys,” said Annie. “It sort of escalated into a 230-mile trek.”

And I’ve no doubt that 4,500 miles away in Grenada brother Philip raised a glass to their efforts.

Definitely not your average farming family are the Clifts.