Here are some Beekeeping Notes by Willie Robson for July 2026. Colin Weightman kept dairy shorthorns at Riding Mill on the Tyne and spent the greater part of his life as an understudy to the late Brother Adam from Buckfast Abbey. I have taken these notes from a little book edited by Colin but written…
Here is our May 2026 Beekeeping Report. Despite May being very cold our bees have done well on the early spring honey flows. Wild cherry was exceptionally good and looking at the honey, which is of medium colour, oilseed rape has not been the main source. There will be some in the mix and the…
This spring has been a difficult time for beekeepers at Chain Bridge Honey Farm due largely to unexplained losses. The weather was very bad last year from October 2023 to July 2024. Rain was persistent during that period. We think that there were too many old bees in the hives. Bees that have to go…
We had a look at some bees on 28th April at Cornhill, fifteen miles inland, and found that they were doing well on the wild cherry blossom known locally as ‘the gean’. There were many young bees taking flight for the first time and making a lot of noise as they orientate on their hives…
I came across this photo of 24 wild white clover sections and thought about it. There were beekeepers (3 brothers) who lived locally at Crookham who constantly selected their queens for excellence and this included the bees ability to make a perfect job of sealing their sections. It was never easy to persuade bees to…
TREES – By Willie Robson of Chain Bridge Honey Farm I was thinking the other day about the sycamore tree and the other trees that will soon be flowering. There are already tassels laden with pollen on some of the willows and the alder will also provide plenty of pollen. Much more prominent in…
As you can probably guess, we love bees here at Chain Bridge Honey! These clever little creatures, that are so integral to human life, are really pretty amazing, so today we’re going to look at some fascinating bee facts to get you clued up. Aside from having the ability to create multiple products that we…
