Hemel Hempstead is a postwar New Town on the River Gade, surrounded by the chalk Chilterns fringe on its western side and the hedged clay farmland of the upper Gade valley to the north. Gadebridge Park's lime and horse chestnut planting anchors the town-centre flow, while the sweet-chestnut and beech woodland of Ashridge estate to the west adds a classic Chilterns woodland dimension to the mid-June season.
Collectors in Hemel Hempstead regularly attend swarms in the lime trees of Gadebridge Park and the Marlowes riverside corridor, in the garden hedgerows of Boxmoor and Apsley, in the 1950s and 1960s semi-detached housing of the original New Town neighbourhoods, and along the Grand Union Canal towpath towards Berkhamsted.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
AL1 1BY· approx. 9 km
Visit websiteWD3 1FA· approx. 13 km
Visit websiteHA5 4EA· approx. 18 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
The chalk uplands of the north — around Baldock, Royston and Letchworth — give oilseed rape, sainfoin and a solid hawthorn flow. The southern clay country leans on sycamore, horse chestnut and field maple, with the limes of Hertford, Harpenden and St Albans producing a classic June crop. Ashridge, Tring Park and the Chilterns edge add beech forage. Bramble on the commons and rosebay willowherb along the Lee Valley corridor carry midsummer. Ivy closes a long, productive year.
More on beekeeping in HertfordshireReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
