Portstewart is a Victorian resort town on the north Londonderry coast, with a famous National Trust strand of two miles of sand dunes stretching west toward the Bann estuary. The clifftop grassland above the town carries sea-thrift, kidney vetch, bird's-foot trefoil and early-flowering coastal gorse, providing some of the earliest forage in the county from February onward. The strand dunes hold marram, ragwort and a diverse range of coastal wildflowers. The promenade gardens and the grounds of the Dominican College have ornamental flowering borders. The town is adjacent to Coleraine and the lower Bann willows, with the River Bann estuary wetlands close by.
Collectors attend swarms on the clifftop gorse and coastal grassland above the promenade, along the National Trust Strand dune margins with sea-thrift and kidney vetch, in the ornamental promenade gardens and Dominican College grounds, along the River Bann estuary willows east toward Coleraine, and in the eaves and garden walls of the Victorian seafront properties.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
BT26 6NH· approx. 95 km
CA24 3HZ· approx. 216 km
Visit websiteCA13 0AU· approx. 222 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.
