Withernsea is a small coastal town on the Holderness shore south of Hull — flat, exposed and agricultural, with a distinctive lighthouse standing inland from the seafront. The surrounding Holderness plain is one of the most intensively arable parts of Yorkshire, but field-margin bramble, sea-buckthorn scrub on the cliffs and village-garden ivy give local bees a working season.
Swarms settle on the old timber beach huts, on the lighthouse garden hedgerows, in the briar and elder thicket of the cliffside paths, and on the eaves of the older Victorian semis on Queen Street and Hull Road. Collectors cover the full southern Holderness coast.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
HU17 9BA· approx. 33 km
Visit websiteLN11 0GN· approx. 39 km
Visit websiteDN20 0JR· approx. 43 km
Visit websiteAssociation 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.
