Storrington is a village at the very foot of the South Downs, with the Iron Age hill fort of Chanctonbury Ring visible on the ridge above. The chalk downland to the south carries clover, vetch and rock-rose; the Arun valley meadows to the north offer sallow and willowherb; and the garden village itself, with its mature limes and cottage orchards, sits between both flows. It is well-placed beekeeping country.
Collectors are regularly called to swarms in the mature garden trees and old flint walls on the Horsham Road and School Hill sides of the village, in the orchard remnants towards Sullington and Cootham, on the downland scrub margins above the village, and in the roof spaces of older stone and brick properties in the village centre.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
BN12 5JL· approx. 11 km
Visit websiteRH14 0DS· approx. 13 km
Visit websitePO18 0EE· approx. 19 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
The county is carried by a long, staggered honey flow. Spring opens on the blackthorn and hawthorn of the Downs, followed by field maple and sycamore on the Weald, and the sweet-chestnut coppice still worked around the Arun and Rother valleys. Early summer brings white clover on the grazed chalk, bramble in every hedgerow, and the heavy lime flow that lines the streets of Chichester, Arundel and Horsham. Late summer leans on rosebay willowherb, balsam along the Adur, and a strong ivy flow into October on sheltered south-facing lanes. It is a long season, and hives work hard.
More on beekeeping in West SussexReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
