Folkestone is a coastal town on the Kent chalk, with the open downland of the North Downs AONB rising steeply behind and the Channel Tunnel terminal a few miles to the west. The chalk grassland above the town carries vetches, clovers and marjoram; the scrubby Warren below — an ancient undercliff famous for its botanical richness — holds bramble, sallow and sea buckthorn; and the old garden town of Sandgate and the Creative Quarter add urban lime and sycamore to the mix.
Collectors regularly attend swarms in the old walled gardens and lime trees of the Leas promenade and Sandgate Road conservation area, on the scrubby chalk grassland and flint-wall margins of the Warren, in the garden orchards of the inland villages of Newington and Postling, and in the chimney stacks and mansard roofs of the Victorian seafront terraces.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
CT15 4AD· approx. 14 km
Visit websiteTN26 2PE· approx. 21 km
Visit websiteCT4 5DY· approx. 21 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.
