Visit
Six people, one apiary, and a full day with your hands actually in a colony.
We are not a visitor centre. There is a yard, a shed, eleven out-apiaries within nine miles, and a kettle. If you want to see bees you will be standing next to an open hive, in a suit we lend you, doing the work.
What actually happens
Nine until four, six people, one lunch, and four colonies opened between you. Suits, gloves and hive tools are ours. Bring boots and a packed lunch; the nearest shop is eleven minutes away and shuts at one.
| When | What | Why it is in that order |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | Kettle, and a frame of brood on the kitchen table | Everyone handles comb cold and dead before they handle it with 40,000 bees on it. |
| 10:15 | Suits on, smoker lit, first colony opened | Lighting a smoker that stays lit is the single most-failed skill in beekeeping. |
| 11:30 | Finding the queen, and failing to | You will not find her. Learning to read eggs instead is the thing worth taking home. |
| 13:00 | Lunch, and the swarm-control argument | Everyone has read six methods by now. We do one, and say why. |
| 14:00 | An artificial swarm, done properly | It is April or May. This is the manipulation that decides your crop. |
| 15:30 | What it costs, and what it costs in hours | Most people who quit beekeeping quit in year two, in August, over varroa. |
This season
Course days run when the bees are worth opening, which is April to July. Nucs are collected in April and May; queens from June.
| Date | What | Places | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 April | A day at the hive — spring build-up and swarm signs | 2 of 6 | £110 |
| 2 May | A day at the hive — artificial swarm | Full | £110 |
| 9–24 May | Over-wintered nuc collection, by arrangement | 4 left | £235 |
| 13 June | A day at the hive — queen rearing, grafting | 5 of 6 | £125 |
| From 20 June | Mated queens, collected or posted | Ongoing | £48 |
| 11 July | A day at the hive — taking the crop off | 6 of 6 | £110 |
Send us a note
We answer in the evenings, usually within two days and never during a nectar flow. Nothing is paid for here — we will write back to confirm a place and take payment when you arrive.
It is further than the map says
Cwm Aled sits up a single-track lane off the B4355 north of Knighton. The last mile has passing places and a cattle grid, and satellite navigation will confidently send you to a ford instead.
By car
From Knighton, B4355 north for 4 miles, left at the chapel, then the second farm track. Park on the hard standing, not the verge — the milk lorry needs it at six.
LD7 1TU · ///scarf.mostly.hammerBy train
Knighton, on the Heart of Wales line. Four trains a day. Tell us which one and we will collect you — there are no taxis.
Knighton · 15 min driveWhat to bring
Boots that cover the ankle, long trousers, a packed lunch, and no scent of any kind. Bees dislike perfume and bananas in roughly equal measure.
Suits and tools providedIf you are allergic
Tell us before you book. We have been stung on every course we have ever run and we would rather know in advance than find out in a field.
Say so in your note