Bee swarm in Clun? Help is a minute away.

Clun is a small hill-town in the upper Clun valley on the Welsh Marches border, dominated by the remains of its Norman castle and clustered around a medieval bridge over the River Clun. It lies at the heart of the Clun Forest uplands, one of the least densely populated parts of England. Shropshire Beekeepers covers the town and the surrounding upland pasture and moorland parishes. The ancient semi-natural woodland of Clun Forest and the steep valley sides carry hawthorn, bilberry and rowan through spring; unimproved limestone grassland on the Offa's Dyke ridge adds wild thyme, tormentil and heather late summer; the Clun river meadows contribute marsh marigold and willowherb; and ivy on the old castle masonry and churchyard walls gives an autumn flow in a high-latitude, wind-exposed setting where other nectar sources are limited.

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.