Bridge of Allan is a Victorian spa town on the Allan Water immediately north of Stirling, with prosperous lime-lined avenues, the landscaped Airthrey Castle grounds of the University of Stirling campus, and extensive parkland on the wooded lower Ochil slopes. The university grounds carry a wide range of ornamental and native flowering plants; the Allan Water's willows and bankside hawthorn give a reliable spring flow; and the lime avenues of Henderson Street and Fountain Road are among the finest urban June forage in central Scotland. The Hermitage Wood above the town, managed by the Woodland Trust, adds ancient oak, rowan and bilberry.
Collectors attend swarms in the University of Stirling campus grounds and Airthrey Castle walled garden margins, along the Allan Water willows between the Pendreich Road bridge and Mine Wood, in the lime trees of Henderson Street and Fountain Road, and in the stone garden walls and Victorian villa eaves of the upper residential streets.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
CA6 4HN· approx. 148 km
Visit websiteCA13 0AU· approx. 170 km
NE65 9QH· approx. 172 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.
