Wem is a small market town in north Shropshire, set on the River Roden in the transition between the mosses of Fenns, Whixall and Bettisfield to the north and the rolling farmland to the south. The surrounding countryside holds unusual forage including the bog rosemary and cross-leaved heath of the Shropshire mosses alongside the more familiar hawthorn and oilseed rape of the north Shropshire plain.
Swarms in Wem appear on the timber-framed and Georgian houses of High Street, in the riverside willows and alders along the Roden and on the garden eaves of the newer residential areas on the south side. The mature sweet William gardens — for which the town is locally famous — attract prolific visiting bees in July.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
SY133JL· approx. 9 km
Visit websiteSY5 8NP· approx. 19 km
Visit websiteSY11 4AD· approx. 21 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
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.
More on beekeeping in ShropshireReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
