Turriff is the market town of north Aberdeenshire — a compact stone town on the River Deveron with a traditional agricultural show ground and one of the most productive oilseed rape landscapes in Scotland surrounding it. The Turriff Show, held annually since 1864, takes place in grounds adjacent to the town and is one of the great agricultural events of north-east Scotland. The Deveron valley hawthorn hedges and riverside willows carry the post-rape season; sycamore on the estate grounds north of the town, and the approach of the Clashindarroch and Deveron Forest heather moors to the west, mean Turriff bees can access both lowland rape and hill heather in a single season. Turriff BKA is one of the Aberdeenshire association branches.
Collectors attend swarms in the oilseed rape field margins of the surrounding Deveron plain farmland, along the River Deveron willows and hawthorn hedges, in the Turriff Show ground boundary planting, in the granite garden walls and chimney stacks of the older High Street and Castle Street properties, and on the Deveron Forest heather fringe to the west.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
NE65 9QH· approx. 256 km
Visit websiteNE12 8EH· approx. 286 km
Visit websiteNE46 3NB· approx. 286 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
Oilseed rape on the vast arable belt around Inverurie, Turriff and Ellon is the defining early flow — Scotland's single biggest rape region. Hawthorn and sycamore carry the post-rape period; lime lights Aberdeen's granite streets in June. The heather of Royal Deeside, the Ladder Hills and the Cabrach gives one of the finest and most commercially worked heather honey flows in Britain. Bilberry and hill forage add; a short but real ivy flow on the granite villages finishes the year.
More on beekeeping in AberdeenshireReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
