Bath is a UNESCO World Heritage city in the Avon valley at the foot of the Cotswold escarpment, with the Royal Crescent and Circus garden squares, Prior Park landscape garden and the wooded limestone combes of Bathampton Down all within the city boundary. The city's mature Georgian garden squares produce a fine lime and plane-tree June flow; the National Trust Prior Park and Skyline walk carry chalk and limestone grassland flora; and the Avon watermeadows add sallow and willowherb through summer. The Bath BKA is one of the most active in the south-west.
Collectors regularly handle swarms in the plane trees and limestone-walled gardens of the Royal Crescent, Circus and Pulteney Estate, in the walled orchard and terrace garden remnants of the Bathampton and Widcombe hillsides, along the Avon towpath willows and alders at Bathampton and Claverton, and in the chimney stacks and Georgian parapet walls of the central city terraces.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
BA2 9JA· approx. 6 km
Visit websitebs313ep· approx. 7 km
Visit websiteBA3 2DP· approx. 14 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
The apple orchards of Taunton Deane, Glastonbury and the Tone Valley give an early, intense flow in May; sycamore and hawthorn run behind. Lime scents the streets of Bath and Wells in June; bramble blankets every hedge. The Levels contribute a long late flow on willowherb, loosestrife and himalayan balsam along the rhynes. Mendip provides limestone grassland herbs — wild thyme, marjoram, knapweed — and the Quantocks give a small but real late heather supplement. Ivy closes the year on old orchards and stone churchyards.
More on beekeeping in SomersetReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
