Westbourne is an affluent Victorian suburb of Bournemouth with a distinctive covered shopping arcade, tree-lined residential streets and a westward-facing beach fringe on Alum Chine. The large walled and established gardens of the Victorian and Edwardian villas in the streets around Alumhurst Road and Grand Avenue carry mature lime, horse chestnut and Portugal laurel giving a strong June city flow. Alum Chine itself is a wooded coastal ravine with elder, hawthorn and bramble on the steep chine sides, extending the season into August; ivy on the older garden walls closes the year.
Collectors in BH4 attend swarms in the mature lime and horse chestnut of the Victorian villa gardens around Alumhurst Road and Grand Avenue, in the Alum Chine hawthorn and elder on the chine-side scrub, in the bramble on the coastal scrub fringe toward Branksome Chine, and in the eaves and chimney stacks of the large Victorian and Edwardian properties throughout Westbourne.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
BH22 8SS· approx. 7 km
Visit websiteBH18 8AH· approx. 9 km
Visit websiteSO41 5QG· approx. 25 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
The season opens on gorse at Turbary Common and Canford Heath from February; blackthorn in the chine hedgerows follows. Lime in Bournemouth's public gardens — the Central, Upper and Lower Gardens along the Bourne chine — delivers a fine late-June flow. The Hengistbury Head headland and Stanpit Marsh carry sea-lavender, sea-aster and coastal scrub into August. Bramble is dense in the chines and on the heath edges. Bell heather and ling on Canford Heath and Turbary Common give a late-July to September supplement that few coastal UA areas in southern England can match. Coastal ivy on cliff-face gardens and older bungalow walls closes the year.
More on beekeeping in Bournemouth, Christchurch and PooleReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
