Newtownstewart is a small market town on the River Strule between Omagh and Strabane, sheltered by the Bessy Bell and Mary Gray hills to the north-west. The Strule runs in broad curves through willows and alder carr here, and the bankside is a productive early-season forage strip. The Baronscourt Estate parkland is close by, with lime avenues, mature sycamore and old hawthorn giving a strong May flow. Drumlin farmland on all sides carries dense whitethorn hedges and blackthorn margins, with bramble and rosebay willowherb on rough ground. The Sperrin foothills above the town have ling and bell heather across open moorland from late July.
Collectors attend swarms along the willow and alder bankside of the Strule through the town, in the lime and sycamore of the Baronscourt Estate parkland to the south, in the whitethorn hedgerows on the drumlin farm lanes toward Omagh and Strabane, and in the eaves and ivy-clad stone walls of the older buildings near the town centre.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
BT26 6NH· approx. 96 km
CA24 3HZ· approx. 248 km
Visit websiteLL77 7NX· approx. 258 km
Association data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
Blackthorn and whitethorn drumlin hedges open the year. Sycamore and hawthorn dominate May. Lime is present in Omagh, Dungannon and Strabane. The Sperrins contribute bell and ling heather in August — a dark, thick crop some Tyrone beekeepers work seriously. Bilberry in the oakwoods adds a June supplement; rosebay willowherb is dense on every disused rail line and stone quarry. Ivy finishes the year on whitewashed cottages.
More on beekeeping in County TyroneReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
