Aberfoyle is the southern gateway to the Trossachs, a village in the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park where the River Forth narrows to a Highland stream below Ben Venue and the Menteith Hills. Forestry and Land Scotland manages most of the surrounding land, and the native oakwood and birchwood margins in the David Marshall Lodge area carry bilberry, rowan and spring willow catkins. The village's lime trees and garden hedges give local urban forage; bramble is prolific on the forestry road verges; and the heather moorland above the treeline on Duke's Pass carries a strong late-summer flow that has been commercially exploited for generations.
Collectors attend swarms in the village garden borders and stone eaves along Main Street, along the River Forth willows from the village bridge toward the Lake of Menteith, in the native oakwood margins of the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, and on the gorse and heather scrub above the forestry road on the Duke's Pass hillside.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
CA6 4HN· approx. 164 km
Visit websiteCA13 0AU· approx. 181 km
CA24 3HZ· approx. 192 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
Oilseed rape on the Carse of Stirling carries the early flow. Sycamore and hawthorn fill the hedges; the lime avenues of Stirling, Bridge of Allan and Callander provide a classic June crop. Bracken-fringed oakwoods give bilberry; the Trossachs and Ochils contribute bell and ling heather in August. Bramble is dense in the sheltered valleys; ivy on old stone walls closes a long season given the northern latitude.
More on beekeeping in StirlingReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
