Peebles is a prosperous spa and market town on the upper River Tweed, the most northerly of the major Border towns and the closest to Edinburgh. The Tweed at Peebles is wide and willow-lined; the riverside Hay Lodge Park and the mature sycamore and horse chestnut of the High Street give a strong urban flow from May. Neidpath Castle, upstream on the Tweed gorge, is surrounded by ancient woodland of oak, ash and hawthorn. The Moorfoot Hills to the north and Manor Valley to the south carry bell and ling heather from late July; bramble is dense in the sheltered valley margins; and white clover is abundant in the riverside hay meadows.
Collectors attend swarms along the Tweed willows and Hay Lodge Park riverside borders through the town, in the Neidpath Castle ancient woodland and gorge hawthorn, in the sycamore and horse chestnut eaves and stone walls of the High Street terraces, and on the heather and gorse scrub of the Moorfoot hill faces above Eddleston Water.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
CA6 4HN· approx. 80 km
Visit websiteNE46 3NB· approx. 102 km
Visit websiteNE65 9QH· approx. 103 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
Spring is late; hawthorn and sycamore carry May. Oilseed rape is grown in moderation. The defining flow is ling heather on the Cheviots and Lammermuirs from late July — dark, set, among the best hill heather in the UK. Bilberry in moorland-fringe oakwoods, white clover in hay meadows, bramble in sheltered valleys, and a short autumn ivy flow on stone cottage walls round out a short year.
More on beekeeping in Scottish BordersReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
