Draperstown is a small Plantation town in the foothills of the Sperrins, laid out by the Drapers' Company of London in the seventeenth century with a characteristic wide main street. The Glenelly Valley walks and the Sperrins Heritage Centre are close by. Heather and bilberry cover the high Sperrins above the town, with ling and bell heather flowering from late July through September — a significant late-summer forage resource. Hawthorn and blackthorn thicken in the valley hedges below, excellent in May blossom. Sycamore and lime line the town centre streets; the Moyola headwaters carry willows and alder on the valley floor to the east.
Collectors attend swarms on the lower Sperrins heather and bilberry fringe above the town, along the Moyola headwater willows and alder east of the village, in the hawthorn and blackthorn hedgerows on the valley farm lanes toward Tobermore, in the mature sycamore of the main street and older residential properties, and in garden eaves and stone outbuilding walls.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
BT26 6NH· approx. 66 km
CA24 3HZ· approx. 211 km
Visit websiteCA13 0AU· approx. 221 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.
