Tetbury is a small Cotswold market town on the limestone plateau near the Wiltshire border, known for its 17th-century market house and the Highgrove Estate immediately to the south. The estate's organic and walled-garden approach to farming has influenced local beekeeping thinking, and the Cirencester & District BKA covers this part of the southern Cotswolds. The surrounding plateau farmland carries hawthorn, clover and field maple; the old orchard gardens of the estate villages add apple and cherry blossom in spring.
Collectors regularly attend swarms in the old orchard and stone-walled garden boundaries of the Long Street and Market Place conservation area, in the parkland trees and boundary hedges of the Highgrove and Westonbirt Arboretum estate fringe, in the dry-stone field walls towards Beverston and Chavenage, and in the chimney stacks and Cotswold-stone roof voids of the older town-centre properties.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
GL68GA· approx. 8 km
Visit websiteGL7 5PU· approx. 19 km
Visit websiteSN25 4TG· approx. 26 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
The Cotswolds give early blackthorn and hawthorn on drystone hedges, with limestone grassland herbs later. The Severn Vale brings oilseed rape, horse chestnut and hawthorn in the valley pastures. The Forest of Dean is the country flavour — sweet-chestnut coppice, holly, bilberry and a late heather patch on the upper heaths. Bramble is universal; lime and sycamore dominate the June streets of Cheltenham, Gloucester and Stroud. A reliable autumn ivy flow on stone-walled churches carries hives into October.
More on beekeeping in GloucestershireReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
