Faversham is a historic market town in the heart of north Kent's fruit-growing country, surrounded by cherry, apple and pear orchards, and with the Swale estuary and its saltmarsh to the north. It is one of the best-placed beekeeping towns in the county — the orchard flow in April and May is intense, the sea lavender on the Swale marshes is extraordinary in August, and the ancient hop gardens and sweet-chestnut coppice add to a long and varied season.
Collectors regularly attend swarms in the orchard boundaries and oast-house gardens surrounding the town, in the old flint and brick walls of the Abbey Street and Court Street conservation areas, along the sallow and sea-purslane margins of Oare Creek and the Swale, and in the chimney stacks and pantile roofs of the medieval town-centre properties.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
CT5 4LS· approx. 10 km
Visit websiteCT4 5DY· approx. 17 km
Visit websiteME17 1NQ· approx. 18 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
Few places open as explosively as Kent. Cherry, apple, pear and plum in the orchards of Faversham, Tenterden and the Medway bring an intense early flow, followed closely by oilseed rape on the North Downs dip slopes. Lime and sweet chestnut carry hives through June, particularly in the coppiced woods of the Weald. Late summer is often dominated by fireweed on the chalk pits and disturbed ground, with a strong and valuable ivy flow across the coastal plain from Deal to Whitstable. Hops, though decorative for bees, add to the mosaic.
More on beekeeping in KentReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
