Doune is a small historic town on the River Teith, best known for the imposing fourteenth-century Doune Castle and the traditional craft of Doune pistol-making. The Teith and its tributary the Ardoch carry willows, alder and bankside hawthorn through the town; the meadows at Deanston, where the former mill buildings house Deanston Distillery, produce white clover and meadow vetch ground through summer. Oilseed rape is grown on the flat carse fields between Doune and Stirling; the Braes of Doune moorland above the town transitions into heather and bilberry from late July. Sycamore and horse chestnut are prominent on the older residential streets.
Collectors attend swarms in the castle grounds and river-meadow hawthorn along the Teith at Doune, along the riverside path between the castle and Deanston footbridge, in the oilseed rape hedgerow margins on the carse roads east toward Stirling, and in the stone garden walls and eaves of the older properties near the main square.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
CA6 4HN· approx. 154 km
Visit websiteCA13 0AU· approx. 175 km
NE65 9QH· approx. 179 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.
