Little Somerford Honey

31/12/2023

A very Happy New Year to all my followers here.

Little Somerford Honey is a small part of White Horse Honey - so if you head over to my page there you’ll find much more content and updates about the bees in 2024.

Thanks for enjoying the honey !

02/12/2022

Come along and see our stall at Malmesbury Late Night Shopping event this evening, Friday 2nd December. Plenty of local honey - Foxley, Little Somerford, White Horse and Raw Chunk Honey and Limited Edition Heather Honey. Also lots of handmade beeswax candles and beeswax cosmetics and gift sets too.

Hope to see you there !

30/07/2022

‘New Season’ Little Somerford honey now back in stock at The Wildfood Company on Malmesbury’s high street ….

18/07/2022

What do you do on a hot day when keeping bees can’t be ‘indoors’ ? Well you start at 4.30am moving empty kit to the paddock, then unloading the truck and reloading with empty boxes that need to have foundation inserted into the cleaned frames. Fast forward home and a steady ‘sit down’ job in the shade with plenty of water to hand, finishing at 1pm and then back out at 7.30 to pop some of the prepared boxes onto hives that need more space. With 14 apiaries and an average of 3 boxes needed per visit that’s 42 empties every 5-7 days at the moment…the honey is pouring in still.

22/04/2022

A good honey flow on the Oilseed - fresh honey comb being built by the bees and they’re filling it fast with nectar from the yellow flowers in the background !

25/01/2022

22/01/2022

One of the winter pests hives have to contend with are woodpeckers. Specifically the Green woodpecker.
They attack the hives aiming to try and gain access to the bees inside as they know they make a tasty meal.
Only trapping and releasing the woodpeckers elsewhere works as they are intelligent birds and often come back every winter to the same apiary.
This poly hive roof had a board beneath it so it seems to have deterred the bird this time around.
The holes will be filled with filler and then repainted in the spring !

25/12/2021

Merry Christmas from Little Somerford Honey

04/08/2021

29/03/2021

An evening beekeeping - the season has begun !

12/12/2020

Available to buy on Etsy - single apiary honey from Wiltshire

RAW British Single Apiary Honey - from the fields and flowers of Wiltshire. Ecologically sound, 100% sustainable, Vegetarian, Great Sugar Swap. Natures golden goodness in a jar ! Our honey is bottled from single source apiaries - we dont blend the honey that goes into these jars. Each Apiary and

12/07/2020

Some wild honeycomb from a nucleus that had got a bit large for its starter hive - expanded them today and tomorrow this will be breakfast !

20/05/2020

It’s world Bee Day today !

19/04/2020

Early spring crop

25/03/2020

So - the government have just informed all beekeepers that as long as they take the appropriate measures they can continue beekeeping during the COVID-19 outbreak. A relief for me I can tell you !
Check www.nationalbeeunit.com if you're interested.

24/03/2020

To soothe a cough....

TRY: HONEY

A cough is a symptom of respiratory illnesses, including the common cold and flu — and Covid-19.

If cough medicines are unavailable, honey may be a good alternative
Most people who have this symptom won’t get a confirmed diagnosis, as the current advice is to stay at home unless the symptoms become unbearable.
Cough medicines are one of the over-the-counter remedies that are reported to be fast disappearing from pharmacy shelves.
‘Most cough medicines combine ingredients such as a decongestants [including pseudoephedrine] and antihistamines [such as triprolidine], and have been shown to be effective against coughs generally,’ says Dr Lynda Ware, a former GP and a senior fellow in general practice at Cochrane UK, an organisation that looks at the evidence base for medical advice.
‘If cough medicines are unavailable, honey may be a good alternative,’ she suggests.
A 2018 Cochrane Review looked at six trials and concluded there was evidence that honey may help children who have a cough — though honey is not recommended for children under 12 months.
‘Honey is thought to have properties that work against bacteria, viruses and inflammation and it’s an ingredient in many cough syrups,’ says Dr Ware.
‘It has also been suggested that, due to its viscous nature, honey coats the throat and this has a soothing effect.’

14/03/2020

Local Honey - Home Delivery

I am taking orders for local honey to be delivered to your home from Friday 20th March.

I have a few varieties available :

Little Somerford (in runny and set) £6 a jar
White Horse Honey (in runny and set) £6 a jar
Raw Pollen Enriched Honey (runny) £7.50 a jar

Minimum order two jars of any mix

Please contact me via PM, messenger, comment below or on 07767 838317

Thank you for supporting your local beekeeper

23/02/2020

Honey can help soothe that cough ...

Guidelines from NICE states there is evidence that honey can help improve cough symptoms.
Honey is a natural remedy tried and tested for generations. A trial suggests honey can reduce the severity and frequency of a cough after one day.
NICE cites a 2014 study of 568 people which found a 10g spoonful significantly reduced the frequency and severity of coughs within a day.

Mix it with fresh hot lemon at home (squeeze half a fresh lemon into a mug of boiled water) and add two teaspoons of honey, stir well and drink while still warm.

Of course local honey is always the best choice !

14/02/2020

Stuck for a Valentines gift ? Say it with Honey!

01/02/2020

A large tree (I think it was an Ash) split in half and came down last year near some hives at Little Somerford...so today the big clear up began...a whole day of logging and clearing.

The space created will be used to relocate some hives into as its nicely sheltered

07/01/2020

After a couple of trials last year I am happy to discuss with companies looking to improve their corporate responsibility and ecological credentials through operating and managing beehives for them.

Please pass my details to any companies looking into this and I would be happy to speak to them.

24/11/2019

I alluded to this in my last post. Today in The Sunday Times it’s now under investigation...

Support your local beekeeper !

19/10/2019

Bee pollen 🐝🌼 the golden nuggets of the pantry without which no smoothie, toast, or bowl can bee complete ... But they’re more than just a pretty garnish — they’re power packed with nourishment! 👊 ⁣⠀ ⁣⠀
✔️Bee pollen contains an entire alphabet of vitamins + minerals—including all the energising B vitamins + every essential amino acid.
✔️With a 40% protein content, bee pollen is one of the world’s highest quality protein sources. (As a complete protein, it’s even got more protein punch per gram than popular animal sources like chicken or beef.) ⁣⠀
✔️Bee pollen is jam-packed with antioxidants that fight stress-induced damage. ⁣⠀
✔️It even supports immune health + seasonal allergy support.
✔️Athletes use bee pollen to help build sustained energy + stamina. Even Olympians + pro athletes have sworn by it (like, name drop, Muhammed Ali)!⁣

04/10/2019

Please keep your eyes open to this threat - especially common around flowering Ivy which was where the latest one was discovered this week in Dorset

17/08/2019

Today is ! Let’s pause for a moment and consider how lucky we are to have honeybees - and how we’d struggle if they didn’t survive.

Support your local Beekeeper and buy

08/08/2019

Spinning the summer crop

12/07/2019

One of the hives that supply Little Somerford Honey - checked it today and it is now taller than me (which is very tall)

07/07/2019

A really good identifier to compare the European Hornet (left hand side) with the Asian Hornet (right hand side)

03/07/2019

First confirmed Asian Hornet (Queen) for 2019 found in New Milton, Hampshire

28/06/2019

The first batch of pollen - who’s up for pollen infused honey ? Or just raw pollen on it’s own ?

Please message me with ideas and suggestions