Lurgan is a large town on the southern shore of Lough Neagh, forming the western end of the Craigavon conurbation. Oxford Island National Nature Reserve, on the Lough Neagh shore a short distance north-east, is one of the most important wetland habitats in Northern Ireland and carries hemp agrimony, yellow iris, meadowsweet, purple loosestrife and willow scrub from June through August. Brownlow House demesne near the town centre retains mature lime, sycamore and ornamental planting. Lough Neagh's reedbeds and willow-fringed margins extend the forage season well into late summer. Hawthorn and blackthorn hedgerows are dense on the farm lanes toward Waringstown and Moira to the north-east.
Collectors attend swarms at Oxford Island along the Lough Neagh shoreline willows and wildflower meadow margins, in the Brownlow House demesne lime and sycamore, along the Lough Neagh reedbeds and drainage ditches north of the town, in the hawthorn hedgerows on the farm lanes toward Waringstown, and in the garden trees and eaves of the older streets around the town centre.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
BT26 6NH· approx. 23 km
CA24 3HZ· approx. 180 km
Visit websiteLL77 7NX· approx. 187 km
Association data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
Apple blossom in the Loughgall, Portadown and Richhill orchards gives one of the most concentrated early pollination flows in the British Isles. Hawthorn and sycamore follow. Lime lines the Georgian streets of Armagh city. Bramble is dense on the small-field landscape; clover still matters on pasture. The Ring of Gullion and the Sperrins edge contribute bilberry and late ling heather. Ivy on whitewashed cottage walls closes a long, hedge-rich season.
More on beekeeping in County ArmaghReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
