Matt pouring the polish

With 50 tonnes of honey comes a lot of beeswax, so this is utilised to great effect in a whole host of products.

The furniture polish recipe was one that Willie’s mother Florrie used. The only adaptation is the adding of a small amount of carnauba wax, a high grade wax from a Brazilian palm., which brings out the shine of the beeswax. Matt Caulfield makes the polish, with help from Felicity Hay. Matt also makes moulded beeswax candles (his wee beehives are legendary!)

The cosmetics were devised by Willie and Joyce Walsingham 15 years ago, mainly in response to a skin complaint Daphne had on her hands. She had contact dermatitis, and had used a steroid-based cream which had left her skin very thin and dry. After switching to the hand balm (or ‘natural hand cream’ as it was known then) the trouble cleared up. Now many loyal customers swear by it!

Over the years the range has grown to include soft hand and face creams and a fantastic honey and beeswax soap.

Mary's delicious crunchy mustard.

Beekeepers have long known that honey can be the best aid for healing any number of skin complaints. It is such a high concentration of sugars that bacteria cannot survive in it. For this reason it is a natural antiseptic and can be applied neat to wounds and sores.

Conscious that not everyone has a sweet tooth, honey farm employee of many years Mary Hastie developed a delicious crunchy mustard, containing pickled mustard seeds and no less than 45% honey. Mary also makes a special mustard dressing, produced in small batches and sold at the honey farm. It’s the best!