Whissendine is one of the larger villages in north Rutland, occupying a rise above the Vale of Catmose between Oakham and Wymondham. St Andrew's church — a fine Decorated and Perpendicular building with an impressive tower — stands at the village centre, surrounded by limestone cottages and productive gardens. The arable farmland and hedged pasture stretching north and west towards the Lincolnshire border give colony-keepers here a strong oilseed rape flow in April and May, followed by field margins and white clover through summer.
Collectors attend swarms in the hawthorn and elder hedges on the Langham Road, in the mature garden trees around the Old Rectory and the village hall, in the stone-walled boundary features of the older properties near the church, and along the rough grassland margins of the parish footpaths crossing the arable land to the north.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
PE9 4HZ· approx. 21 km
Visit websiteNG318JS· approx. 26 km
Visit websiteNG34 7TW· approx. 41 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
The season opens on blackthorn and hawthorn along the ancient limestone hedgerows, followed by sycamore and oilseed rape across the arable fields east of Oakham and Ketton. Lime flowers well in both market towns in June; white clover and field margins carry colonies through July. The reservoir shore at Rutland Water supports willowherb and wild angelica into late summer, and field maple, bramble and ivy on the churchyard walls close the year through October and November.
More on beekeeping in RutlandReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
