Great Malvern is a Victorian spa town on the eastern slopes of the Malvern Hills, with the dramatic ridge of pre-Cambrian rock rising sharply behind and the wide Vale of Evesham orchard country stretching east to the Severn. The Worcestershire BKA covers the town, and the surrounding landscape — the limestone grassland and ancient common of the Malvern Hills AONB, the old orchards and perry-pear trees of the lower slope fringe, the Severn valley watermeadows and the walled gardens of the Victorian spa hotels — gives Malvern bees a forage landscape of exceptional botanical richness.
Collectors regularly attend swarms in the old walled gardens and lime trees of the Church Street and Avenue Road conservation areas, on the limestone grassland and bracken-scrub margins of the Malvern Hills common land, in the old orchard remnants of the Welland and Hanley Swan lanes, and in the chimney stacks and eaves of the older Victorian spa and Priory properties.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
WR1 1AA· approx. 12 km
Visit websiteWR6 6JT· approx. 19 km
Visit websiteGL18 1BD· approx. 21 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
The Vale of Evesham opens the year with apple, pear, plum and the last surviving commercial asparagus flowers. Oilseed rape fills the middle fields; hawthorn and sycamore line the lanes. Lime dominates the June streetscape of Worcester, Malvern and Kidderminster. The Malvern Hills bring limestone grassland herbs and a small late-summer heather supplement on the upper slopes; bramble is universal. The tail of the year still carries some traditional hop-garden forage around Bromsgrove, and ivy on the old black-and-white villages closes the season.
More on beekeeping in WorcestershireReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
