Bee swarm collection in Shropshire

Early sycamore and hawthorn open on the Severn Valley; oilseed rape is common on the North Shropshire plain. Lime at Shrewsbury, Ludlow and Oswestry gives a strong June flow. Bramble is dense; the mosses of Whixall, Fenn and Bettisfield contribute a patchy but distinctive late summer flow of bog rosemary and cross-leaved heath. The Long Mynd, Stiperstones and Clee Hills provide bilberry and late ling heather — still migrated to by Shropshire beekeepers in August. Ivy on the old red-brick farms and timber-framed cottages closes the year.

Shropshire Beekeepers' Association has branches in Shrewsbury, Telford, Ludlow, Oswestry and Market Drayton. Collectors are used to everything from Tudor timber-frames to modern Telford estates and remote hill farms.