Monmouth is the county town of Monmouthshire, set at the confluence of the Monnow and Wye in a bowl of ancient hedgerow country and mixed woodland. The town walls, the fortified Monnow Bridge and the tree-lined Chippenham Mead meadows give local honey bees a varied forage close to the centre, while the Wye Valley AONB woodlands — rich in lime, sweet chestnut and bramble — begin almost at the edge of town. The Gwent Beekeepers' Association has members active throughout the Wye and Monnow valleys.
Collectors cover swarms in the lime and horse chestnut trees of Agincourt Square and the town-centre gardens, along the Monnow riverside willows and alder at Chippenham Mead, in the mature gardens of the older stone properties on Hereford Road and Monk Street, and in the eaves and chimney stacks of the timber-framed and stone buildings of the medieval town centre.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
GL15 6BS· approx. 15 km
Visit websiteNP7 9DY· approx. 17 km
Visit websiteGL18 1BD· approx. 25 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
Blackthorn and hawthorn on red-soil hedges open the year, followed by sycamore and horse chestnut. The Wye Valley woods — Wyndcliff, Tintern, Wentwood — give a lime and sweet-chestnut June crop. Bramble is dense; the Black Mountains edge contributes bilberry and late ling heather. Apple orchards around the Monnow give a minor but useful pollination flow. A strong late ivy flow on red-sandstone stone walls and church towers closes the year.
More on beekeeping in MonmouthshireReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
