Whitley Bay is a North Sea seaside resort on the North Tyneside coast, with a broad sandy beach, the Spanish City leisure dome, and the coastal grassland and sea-buckthorn scrub of St Mary's Island nature reserve immediately to the north. The coastal dune flora — sea holly, viper's bugloss, restharrow, and wild thyme — gives local bees a salt-air forage supplemented by the lime-avenue streets of the Edwardian resort town and the dense coastal ivy of the old promenade properties.
Collectors regularly attend swarms on the dune grassland and sea-buckthorn of St Mary's Island and the Brierdene to Seaton Sluice coastal margin, in the mature lime and horse chestnut of Park Avenue and the Rockcliffe estate, in the ivy-clad sea walls and garden borders of the promenade terraces, and in the chimney pots and eaves of the Edwardian boarding houses of the seafront.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
NE12 8EH· approx. 10 km
Visit websiteNE9 5AX· approx. 15 km
Visit websiteNE65 9QH· approx. 30 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
Spring opens on sycamore and horse chestnut in Jesmond Dene, Leazes Park and Saltwell Park. The lime avenues of the Georgian terraces of Newcastle and the Victorian parks of Sunderland lead the June flow. Bramble and rosebay willowherb are heavy on former pit-head and industrial land. The coastal denes — Marsden, Whitburn, Castle Eden — contribute sea-buckthorn and coastal meadow forage; ivy on old stone streets and garden walls closes the year.
More on beekeeping in Tyne and WearReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
