How it all started

In the beginning of our beekeeping adventure, we're excited to share the captivating journey that brought us into the world of beekeeping. It all started in June 2022 when catching our first swarm of bees locally within Barrow in Furness.

This marked our first experience in capturing a swarm, an exhilarating moment filled with anticipation. Armed with a cardboard box, some sellotape, and borrowing step ladders and secateurs from nearby residents, Joe, our beekeeper, embarked on collecting the bees. The local residents gathered from a safe distance, asking numerous questions and observing with keen interest as Joe carefully gathered the swarm of bees. Joe had then transported the bees to his home into a newly built hive, this was a very exciting venture.

We achieved success in ensuring the establishment and survival of our first beehive through its first winter we where very happy with how this was going, within this time of keeping the bees we had learned many lessons from keeping bee's with the idea of keeping bees as naturally as possible.

March 2023, during the warmer months. As nature unfolded, the bees engaged in the mesmerising phenomenon of swarming, a process where a queen bee, in search of a new home, led a multitude of bees to accompany her. We usually would of checked them within spring to try prevent this processes by creating splits which involves splitting part of the brood chambers and resource's to create new hives and queens, rather than them swarming and us possibly loosing our bees. Due to the warmer weather in early spring this is what we encountered inc the poor neighbouring children had to witness.

The sky became a canvas for thousands of bees, participating in the intricate dance of nature's reproduction. However, the neighbouring children, hoping to enjoy their garden, weren't as thrilled by the airborne display of bees. Despite the challenges, this marked the initiation of our beekeeping journey and the flourishing evolution that has transpired since.

This prompted us to relocate the beehive from our residence to Cowran Estate in Pennington. On the estate, we initiated the construction of our apiary, aligning with our long-standing plans to enhance and nurture the site with a holistic, environmentally friendly approach to biodiversity. Our project aimed not only to sustain the bees but also to foster a sustainable habitat for other native species.

Guided by our values, mirroring the ethos of the estate, we prioritised environmental kindness and integrated a variety of plant species into the landscape development to enhance the overall ecosystems in the area.

As we gathered swarms of bees from the Furness area, spurred by an exceptionally hot summer, our excitement grew. This period marked a significant expansion of our apiary, enabling us to actively contribute to the community and engage in discussions about the natural cycle of bees and our vision for the future.

While diligently working on our hives throughout the challenging weather conditions prevalent in the north of England, we managed to produce an impressive 106 pounds of our own honey by the end of summer. Not only did we support someone new to beekeeping in establishing their own hives, but we also assisted them in relocating and producing their own honey.

As winter approached, we prepared our bees for the colder months and geared up for honey sales, alongside wax products. Our engagement with the community on beekeeping, honey production, and supplying honey and wax products allowed us to forge strong connections with individuals from Cumbria and northern England, spanning from the general public to fellow beekeepers and bee farmers.

that there's much more to be accomplished in 2024 within our apiary, we are eagerly anticipating the upcoming challenges and successes. Future blogs will delve into our experiences, bee days workshops, and unveil our intentions and ventures into cosmetics.

Due to demand for our own local honey we are currently working very hard to continue and expand the apiary for increasing the honey production, we hope to update you on our progress within our blogs when coming into the bee keeping season from spring in 2024.

Stay tuned, and keep following our social media channels for timely updates on our forthcoming blogs and beekeeping adventures.