Clare remembers the slogan, ‘Beer at home means Davenport’. Well, bees at home means the gardening doesn’t get done!

I started my bee-keeping efforts at home in order to watch and learn with the hive close at hand. One consequence was that we never felt entirely happy doing the gardening with the bees so close. John particularly so! However, I’d always planned to keep the bees on Liddells so spent some time choosing where might be best. I decided on a spot next to the wildflower meadow, not too far from the road and sheltered from the prevailing winds by some big hawthorns. The first step was to build a shed (a joint effort) for the equipment and make sure it was watertight. I moved my single colony to its new home in June 2016  and had two colonies by the end of that bee-keeping year. I was anxious about how they would manage through the winter as it was higher ground and colder than home, so insulated them more than in previous years. They came through well and the insulation was so effective they got going early in 2017. Through some luck (catching a swarm from a bee buddy), some good management (successful swarm control on one hive) and some flying by the seat of my bee suit (bees swarming and creating a new queen without any interference from me), I ended up with four hives, which I reckon is enough. I have always said that I’m not in bee-keeping for the honey, but because it’s a good thing and because I’m lucky enough to be able to. However, the first time I had some honey, it was pretty special!

To read more about the trials and tribulations of a beginner bee-keeper, click here to read what I wrote for the Hexham Beekeepers Association’s newsletter Honeypress.

If you would like to read more about my beekeeping activities, click here.