A buzz about bees

Kate Chapman discovers how the craft of beekeeping is helping to promote local honey and by-products.

A group of like-minded beekeepers have joined forces to create a co-operative which aims to promote locally made products and showcase the beautiful Lincolnshire Wolds where they are created.

Will Hamilton manages the Beekeepers of the Lincolnshire Wolds alongside Darren Handley, a group of seven beekeepers, who first joined forces in 2023. They work as one to advocate for the craft, collaborate with other organisations and attend events in and around the Wolds, which has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty for more than 50 years.

The group runs courses to introduce others to the craft, sell their products and give talks to help educate others about the art of beekeeping. With decades of beekeeping experience between them, they also run their own website and social media channels and are keen to encourage more people to take up the pastime while enjoying the multiple benefits of local, sustainable honey.

“Honey has so many amazing properties: it’s an antioxidant, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory among other things. It can help heal wounds, sooth sore throats – and it’s good to eat,” says Will, who keeps his hives in and around the Louth area.

“It can be used in cosmetics along with beeswax, which can in turn be used in candles and food wraps.

There are also the environmental benefits that honeybees bring by pollinating plants, which helps us produce food and maintain a healthy eco-system.

“I think bees are one of the most studied creatures historically, after the human being. We’ve been fascinated by them for a long time, right back to the time of medieval monks.

“For me, I particularly like how all the parts of the craft are working towards the greater good. The bees are absolutely fascinating creatures – but can also be infuriating!”

Lincolnshire Wolds Honey
Will’s own interest in beekeeping was sparked during his childhood, when he recalls his neighbour kept bees. He took the plunge to find out more 12 years ago when he completed a Louth Beekeepers beginner’s beekeeping course.

His passion for the craft has grown and he’s now semi-commercial, selling his products under the name of The Lincolnshire Wolds Honey Company, which he does alongside his main job as a landscape gardener.

Darren, who originally hails from Portsmouth, has a keen interest in the environment and was taken with the Lincolnshire Wolds from the moment he arrived.

Will has previously chaired and been a trustee of local beekeeping groups, but found that although they often had large memberships, they could be inefficient with tasks falling to a small handful of people.

While the Beekeepers of the Lincolnshire Wolds may be a much smaller group, he says that they – like the honeybees they are promoting – work as one.

“Collaboration is very much the thing, centred on key themes and events that people care about and will endorse in person and online rather than having a fixed membership. It’s like a co-operative arrangement, there are fewer of us but we’re all pulling in the same direction,” he explains.

“As a group, we’re trying to help in terms of sustainable beekeeping – things like the responsible use of chemical treatments and the number of hives in an area.

“We also try to promote working with other groups, not just those directly involved with honeybees but those working with butterflies, bumblebees and other pollinators, as well as local farmers, who are the biggest single group of stakeholders in the country determining what plants are grown. The Countryside Service based in Louth we’ve also found to be excellent.

“People often ask us why honey in the supermarkets is sold for much less, but the supermarket honeys are often adulterated with sugar syrups. They’re essentially watered down and don’t have the same health benefits. By pricing down in this way, they’re making local honey less viable.

“At the events we attend, we intentionally offer tastings to highlight local honeys and show how different flowers affect the honey and produce different tastes and colours too.” 

Taster experiences
Will says the first port of call for anyone considering taking up the craft should be a taster experience or beginner’s beekeeping course, both of which his group offers. While much information is available online, Will says there’s no substitute for trying something first-hand, to build confidence and in case it doesn’t turn out to be what you expect.

Beginners require basic equipment – just a suit, smoker, boots, gloves, a hive tool and a hive, all of which are readily available here in Lincolnshire thanks to Thornes at Rand, near Lincoln, which has been manufacturing beekeeping equipment for more than 100 years. Local groups will also be able to help beginners find bee colonies too. 

“During winter the bees are clustering in their hives, and then in February and March, we’re watching to make sure they’re healthy. Snowdrops, apple blossom, willow, hazel and bulbs are starting to appear, and these are the first things available to the bees,” explains Will.

“From March to July we’re monitoring them and trying to hold them off from swarming – that’s when the colony wants to split. We really want to delay that for as long as possible, otherwise you’re losing your workforce. As we go through summer, different plants are available to the bees and this brings different flavours and colours to the honeys they produce.

“From autumn we want to make sure they’re as strong and healthy as possible for them to cluster in their hives over winter. December and January are quiet, but I use that time to sort my equipment.

“What I really love is the variety – it’s not just about one thing. It’s a craft and always something to learn – beekeeping is something you can really get involved in, as much or as little as you want to. You can attend events, give talks, sell your products and I also love being outdoors. I find beekeeping very therapeutic.”

The Beekeepers of the Lincolnshire Wolds attend local events including the Alford Spring Craft Market, Fun and Friendship Festival in Louth, Lincolnshire Wolds Activity Day and both Sutton on Sea and Alford Horticultural Shows, to share their knowledge and sell products.

Will advises those interested in finding out more about beekeeping to contact their local beekeeping district, which in Lincolnshire is via the Lincolnshire Beekeepers.

Those within commuting distance of Louth are welcome to contact the Beekeepers of the Lincolnshire Wolds online at www.beekeeperslincolnshirewolds.co.uk

Photographs: courtesy of Will Hamilton/The Beekeepers of The Lincolnshire Wolds

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