Bees are fascinating creatures and are  very important to the natural world.
As they go about their business collecting the pollen to turn into honey they spread pollen, which keeps the plants healthy. People have been keeping honey bees since ancient Egyptian times, at least 2422BCE and people have been collecting wild honey for even longer at least since 13000 BCE.
We have 4 healthy hives here at the farm, with an estimated 50,000 bees in each hive in the height of summer. Not only do they help in the biodiversity of the farm but they fly out to the local heathland at Cadle Heath and the neighbouring gardens and do a lot of good work there too.
As a farm we actually offer training in Beekeeping, running an annual course (usually starting around March) and are able to offer special training days and half days when required.  If you would like to arrange a staff activity day or an unusual afternoon learning all about this traditional  and environmentally important craft, get in touch with us Also, if you know a budding beekeeper and are looking for a gift with a difference we offer a ‘Bee-spoke’ package for £15 that involves a chance to meet with our animal keeper to learn about bees and a free jar of honey (when available).

Bee facts
A honey bee visits 50 to 100 flowers during a collection trip.

Each honey bee colony has a unique smell for members’ identification.

Albert Einstein said that the bee is so vital to life on earth that "If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live."

The bee's brain is oval in shape and only about the size of a sesame seed, yet it has remarkable capacity to learn and remember things and is able to make complex calculations on distance travelled and foraging efficiency.

A hive of bees will fly 90,000 miles, the equivalent of three orbits around the earth to collect 1 kg of honey.