Bristol Honey

Bristol Honey

The apiary that produces Bristol honey is made up of five hives sited in the Redland (Bristol) allotments. The nectar comes from the gardens, allotments and trees around Redland. It has an aromatic smell, and the taste is delicious and varies from year to year depending on what people are growing and the impact of the weather.

Where Can I Get Some Talking With Bees Bristol Honey?

2015 harvest – sold out. 2016 – no harvest.  Wild Oats does not currently have any Talking With Bees honey in stock but it does sell other Bristol honeys.

This is exclusively sold in:

  • Wild Oats health food shop (Redland, Bristol)

It looks like this:

Bristol Honey
Bristol Honey – In the Arch House Deli

Darren The Beekeeper

Darren is a busy bee.  He’s been beekeeping for ten years, but he’s also been renovating his house and neglecting his garden for the same amount of time.  So now he takes the boxes off the hives, I pick them up, harvest the honey and jar it.  I give him the boxes back so the bees can take the honey I have left.

Darren is the first beekeeper I ever knew.  He likes his hives big and his bees on the aggressive side (as they produce more honey).  Here’s a summary of his beekeepingness:

  • Style: five hives using double brood boxes (sometimes he has a triple brood box – these towering hives scare me!  They must have a population of 100,000+ honeybees)
  • Apiary: Redland allotments, Bristol
  • Feeding: They have a double brood box so have plenty of their own honey stores and do not require additional feeding
  • Swarm management: Snelgroving (I’ll write more about this over the Winter)
  • Varroa management: Oxalic acid in December (if required)
  • Most likely to say: “I appear to have someone else’s Queen in my hive as I don’t mark mine with a blue pen”
  • Quite likely to say: “I appear to have two Queens in my hive”
  • Productivity: high – he produced 140lb of honey from five hives in 2013

I’ve written a few posts about Darren and his bees or when he is with my bees, please have a read:

Want To Stay In Touch

Consumers – If you have tried some of this honey, then please leave a comment below and perhaps “like” this page.  If you sign up for updates to this page, then you will also be informed when the latest harvest is delivered to Wild Oats.

Retailers & businesses – Please contact me.

Bristol Beekeepers – Please consider joining the Talking With Bees Network.

Everyone – Please have a look around this blog and if you like what you read, or want to know when a new batch of Bristol honey is ready, then please subscribe.

24 thoughts on “Bristol Honey”

  1. HI,

    I AM INTERESTED IN THE LOCAL HONEY MADE IN REDLAND AREA IN BRISTOL. I WOULD USE IT TO TREAT MY BAD HAYFEVER. ONE THING I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IS THAT WHEN WAS THE HONEY MADE IS IT MADE LAST YEAR OR THE MOST RECENT ONE?

    THANK YOU VERY MUCH

    JIE

    1. The honey currently in Wild Oats and the Arch House Deli was harvested in August 2013. The next harvest will be August 2014. I am not sure if the year makes much difference as the pollens will be very similar year on year.

  2. I have bought this for my itchy dog. It is my last ditch stand following the failure of all vets chemical solutions . I have read that one can put raw honey in dogs’ food, as well as on their over chewed paws to soften the pads. Will keep you updated. I had a taste, and it is incredibly yummy but the dog needs it more than me!

  3. I’m interesting in obtaining local honey in bulk (probably 10-20lbs at a time). I used to brew mead but moved to the area awhile back and haven’t been able to set up again until now; really looking forward to starting soon! I always prefer to go with local bees/pollen/people and smaller traders who I can speak to directly and support the local economy, rather than try to work with larger businesses who mix and import honey or anonymous corporate outlet types. Any chance you can help me or direct me to someone who can? 🙂

  4. Hi,

    I’m on the hunt for some raw honey and I’d like to keep it as local as possible. I live within a mile of Redland in Bristol so I was wondering if your Bristol honey is raw.

    Thanks very much! 🙂

  5. Hi
    My husband and 1 year old suffer with hay fever. A friend told me honey from our area could help. Please can you let me know if:
    A) Is honey suitable for a 1year old
    B) How and what is the best way to administer it?
    C) Where can i purchase some from.

    1. Hello.
      A) Government advice is that honey is OK when children are older than one year old
      B) I was speaking with a doctor friend a few weeks ago and she thought that it would be best absorbed through the mouth and tongue. I used a homeopathic hay fever treatment several years ago that was made up of mixed grass pollens. The advice for this treatment was to dissolve slowly on the tongue. I roll the honey round my mouth and delay swallowing for as long as I can.
      C) This honey can only be bought from Wild Oats in Redland, Bristol. Link to shop can be found above.

  6. I am interested in getting some Bristol local honey from Wild Oats or Arch House Deli. I have heard they have already sold out their Talking with Bees honey. When will be the next harvest of the honey?

    1. Hi Alex. I harvest the Bristol honey in September / October. Should be in Wild Oats in October 2015. I’ll update page to say out of stock for the moment.

  7. The 2015 harvest was removed from the hives and harvested in October. It will be available exclusively in Wilds Oats (below) from 12 noon on Saturday 7th November 2015. This years harvest is quite dark in colour with aromatic scent and flavour. It’s my favourite Bristol harvest yet. A vintage year! As ever, there is a very limited supply of this Redland honey, so if you really want it I would advise you to stock up. Enjoy.

  8. Heya I run a little bread and groocers shop in stokes Croft for a charity called LoveBristol and am always looking for locally made products to sell. Would love to stock some of your hoey in our shop. Wondered if thats possible as it looks like you always have a very limited supply. We could do a big order. Thankyou, look forward to hearing from you. Esme

      1. Heya , thankyou for your reply. Great to hear from you.Thats such a shame, its nuts how hard it is to find a local independant honey supplier. We would absolutely love to buy honey off you whenever you have some available, as we love your amazing story. Do you know of any other bristol based honey producers that may be able to stock our shop.

  9. Hello, I’m desperately looking for some raw honey from the Redlands or Bristol area. I too have a dog with skin allergies and have read that unpasteurised honey from my local area would be excellent in treating her condition. I would also like to purchase some for myself ? Please let me know where I could get so,e good raw local honey.
    Regards Dawn

  10. Hi there, I moved Bristol few years ago and use to have mead freely available to me in in Cornwall everywhere, been trying to source honey to make mead, was wondering if you could point me in the right direction. Cheers Tom

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