Castledawson is a village on the Moyola River set at the edge of the Lough Neagh basin, with the lough shoreline just a short distance east. The Moyola carries willow and alder through the village margins; the low-lying valley bottom has meadow wildflowers including meadowsweet, yellow flag iris and purple loosestrife through the summer months. Rich drumlin farmland to the south carries dense hawthorn and blackthorn hedgerows, outstanding in May blossom. Sycamore and lime line the main village street and the older estate properties. The village has a long beekeeping tradition in this part of mid-Ulster, benefiting from the productive Lough Neagh basin landscape.
Collectors attend swarms along the Moyola River willows and alder on the village margins, in the meadow wildflowers and willow carr on the Lough Neagh basin floor east of the village, in the hawthorn and blackthorn hedgerows on the drumlin farm lanes south toward Magherafelt, and in the lime and sycamore trees and estate walls of the older village properties.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
BT26 6NH· approx. 53 km
CA24 3HZ· approx. 195 km
Visit websiteCA13 0AU· approx. 205 km
Association data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
Coastal gorse on the north coast carries an early flow. Blackthorn, hawthorn and sycamore fill May. Lime dominates June in Derry, Coleraine and Limavady. The Sperrins contribute bell and ling heather from late July. The Roe and Bann valleys bring himalayan balsam into a strong late-summer flow; coastal sea-thrift and sea-aster at Magilligan add seasoning; ivy closes a long year on whitewashed cottage walls.
More on beekeeping in County LondonderryReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
