Introduction to beekeeping (July)

This is a one day introduction to the delights of beekeeping. It is aimed at those with an interest in honey bees who may be considering taking up beekeeping, or who may just be interested in learning more about how honey bees live and the work of the beekeeper throughout the year. Attendees should be aged 16 years and over.

What we will cover

We will introduce you to the honey bee colony - workers, drones, and the queen - and discuss the colony's lifecycle and seasonal activities from the bees' perspective. Following this, we will look at what you need to get started - beehives, clothing, tools - and how to source bees.

After lunch in our garden tea room, we will get dressed in wellies and beekeeping jackets and head up to the apiary in the meadow, where we will open the beehives and meet the bees. We will show how we check on the bees' wellbeing, and how gently the bees respond. You may participate and hold honeycombs with bees if you wish, or just watch!

Upon returning to our classroom, we will discuss the beekeeper's tasks season by season, including why and when to open and check beehives, how to recognise and deal with swarming, how to ensure the bees are well prepared for winter, and so on. We will demonstrate simple 'kitchen table' processing of honey and beeswax so that you can enjoy the produce of your beehives - a sweet reward for a season's care and attention! 

We will end the day with a tasting session of various interesting honeys from our own bees and from further afield.

Venue

The event takes place at our purpose-built Honey Farm in the beautiful East Devon countryside. We are just two miles from the coast (as the bee flies) and are sited within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Honey Farm has a tea room with gardens, orchards, and a 24 acre wildflower meadow to explore. We have a dedicated classroom and a teaching apiary on site.

Refreshments

We will provide tea and coffee upon arrival, and between sessions. Lunch is included - we will eat together in our garden tea room; vegetarian options are always available but if you have specific dietary requirements then please contact us beforehand to discuss.

Meeting the bees

Our apiary is sited in the meadow adjacent to the farm building, approximately 200 metres walk along gently sloping grass paths. We will be standing in the apiary for about an hour whilst we meet the bees.

We breed our bees to be generally docile and well-behaved, however there is always the slight chance of a sting. We would not recommend this event for anyone who suffers a severe reaction to insect bites or stings (anaphylaxis).

What to bring

Please bring jeans and a long sleeved top (but avoid woollen or fluffy outer layers), and boots or wellies. We will provide beekeeping clothing and gloves. We will be providing handouts to summarise the talks, but you may wish to bring pen and paper to add your own notes.

Tickets

A printed gift ticket and leaflet for each attendee will be posted out upon confirmation of your order - ideal if this is intended as a gift.

Cancellation Policy

We reserve the right to reschedule or cancel advertised courses. Should this be necessary then you will be given the option of a refund or a transfer to another course/date. We will give as much notice as possible, but regret that we cannot be responsible for any other costs such as those relating to travel or accommodation that might result from this.

Students who have booked on courses may cancel and receive a full refund if notice of cancellation is received at least four weeks before the course start date. If notice of cancellation is received less than four weeks before the course start date, refunds will only be issued if the cancelled place(s) can be re-sold.

A course booking indicates an acceptance of this cancellation policy.