Flamborough is a chalk headland village on the East Yorkshire coast — one of the most distinctive bee habitats in England. The headland chalk cliffs, gorse and sea-campion clifftops and the dense blackthorn thickets of the headland provide an unusual coastal forage sequence. Spring gorse is followed by thrift, bird's-foot trefoil and sea radish on the cliff-top turf, and bramble and hogweed on the scrubby inland side. Ivy on the chalk-stone walls finishes the year.
Swarms in Flamborough settle on the whitewashed limestone cottages of the village, on the chalk-stone walls along the headland lanes and in the thick gorse and blackthorn scrub at the cliff edge. The clifftop nature reserve paths and the old lighthouse grounds are consistent June swarming spots.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
YO11 3PE· approx. 20 km
Visit websiteHU17 9BA· approx. 38 km
Visit websiteYO17 7HD· approx. 45 km
Association data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
Oilseed rape is the defining early flow across the Wolds and Holderness plain. Hawthorn and field maple line the hedgerows. Lime lights the streets of Beverley, Driffield, Hull (Kingston-upon-Hull) and Bridlington. The Wolds chalk grasslands carry thyme, knapweed and sainfoin; bramble and rosebay willowherb are universal. Coastal sea-buckthorn at Spurn adds a distinctive late-summer flow, and a strong ivy flow on the East Riding's pantile villages closes the year.
More on beekeeping in East Riding of YorkshireReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
