Alnwick is a Northumberland castle town on the Aln — its famous walled garden, castle ramparts and medieval street plan make it one of the most distinctive beekeeping settings in the north east. Swarms are a regular June event on the castle walls and in the Hulne Park woodland.
Collectors routinely respond to swarms on the Alnwick Garden walls, on the castle rampart hedges and in the mature tree eaves of the Bondgate and Narrowgate streets. The Hulne Park hedgerows east of the town are a known feral colony corridor.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
NE65 9QH· approx. 16 km
Visit websiteNE12 8EH· approx. 45 km
Visit websiteNE9 5AX· approx. 52 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
The northern moors — Simonside, Redesdale, the Cheviots — carry some of the heaviest ling heather flows in England, with colonies migrated in from as far as the Tyne Valley and beyond. Bell heather opens the late-summer flow; ling finishes it. Sycamore and hawthorn are the dominant hedgerow spring flows. Coastal dune plants at Lindisfarne and Druridge add unusual seasoning. Rosebay willowherb flushes the post-industrial Tyne corridor, and ivy on dark sandstone walls closes the year.
More on beekeeping in NorthumberlandReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
