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How to Capture the Buzz of London Honey

Urban beekeeping is taking off in London. Here are five ways to capture the honey buzz in the English capital even if you don't have your own hives.

You may not equate the English capital, a metropolis of 9.5 million people, with the bucolic pursuit of beekeeping, but more Londoners than ever are keeping bees. The London Beekeepers Association says there has been “an unprecedented rise” in activity, with the number of honeybee colonies in London doubling over the last 10 years.

There are about 20,000 bee species worldwide and 280 species in the UK – about half of which can be found in London. There is even a species unique to London: the Viper’s Bugloss Mason Bee.

Yet the inexorable rise of beekeeping in London comes with downsides. There is a mismatch between the number of bee colonies and the amount of available forage, with potential negative impacts on wild pollinators. Beekeepers are being urged to keep hives in areas away from inner London.

Don’t worry if you don’t have your own hives. Here are five places to tap into the buzz…

Selfridges

The Oxford Street department store has four rooftop hives, looked after by beekeeper Mark Patterson. Last year, the hives produced just 23kg of honey although they’re hoping for more this year, nature willing. “We only have a few jars for sale, but only when clients ask for it. Let’s say it’s a privilege to get them,” says a Selfridges spokesperson.

But you can get a taste of Selfridges honey at HIVE, the store’s honey-based concept restaurant. HIVE’s founder, Khalid Samata, says, “My mission is to educate the world about bees.” The most popular dishes, says Samata, are Baked St-Marcellin cheese (£13), Corn-fed chicken with honey (£26) and the Hive signature dessert (£12). There’s also a range of honey-based cocktails (£14) and a honey and cheese-pairing afternoon tea (from £30).

The London Bee Company

The company is run by Sameer Ghai and Monisha Dajee. “I was working in East Africa with very remote beekeepers to help them develop greater market access and when I returned to the UK, I decided to start The London Bee Company,” explains Ghai. “We are a fairly small producer and average around 2–3 tonnes per year.” Their hives are kept in various London locations – Richmond, Twickenham, Westminster, Kensington and Shepherds Bush – as well as in Redhill and Croydon. Their range of five London honeys cost £7.99–£8.95 per 227g jar. 

From May to September, The London Bee Company also runs beekeeping experiences in Twickenham, west London, during which participants don bee suits and get up close and personal with bees, while learning beekeeping basics (£65 per person).

Bermondsey Street Bees

Founded in 2007 by Dale Gibson (now run by Gibson and Sarah Wyndham Lewis), Bermondsey Street Bees is a sustainable beekeeping practice. What started as a hobby soon became a business and Gibson eventually left his job as a City stockbroker. Wyndham Lewis trained in Bologna as a honey sommelier.

“We are a determinedly small, specialist practice. As commercial beekeepers go, we are tiny, running 80–100 hives depending on the year,” says Wyndham Lewis. “This is dictated by what each of our sites can sustainably accommodate without negative [ecological] impact. As a point of principle, we have always managed our bees for their health and welfare, not for honey production. We only ever take surplus honey that the bees can spare, leaving them plentiful winter stores.” 

Many of their hives are now located in rewilded brownfield sites in London’s Docklands. Yields vary each year but there are usually 6–10 varieties available, sold wholesale to the hospitality trade. The pair also run talks, workshops and honey-centric corporate events.

Fortnum & Mason

Fortnums has been producing honey from its own hives for 13 years. Four hives, painted the trademark eau-de-nil colour, stand on the Piccadilly rooftop. In 2014, hives were set up on the roof of a warehouse in east London’s Hoxton. They also have hives on the roof of the White Cube Gallery in Bermondsey, at Somerset House, St. Pancras Station, and at Royal Albert Hall. The native Buckfast bees are ably looked after by experienced beekeeper Steve Benbow of The London Honey Company.

Fortnum’s Hoxton Honey (£20 per 227g jar), and London Honeycomb (£14.95/170g) are available from the store’s website. Each September, the honey harvested from the Piccadilly rooftop is auctioned off in a honey raffle to raise money for the Bees for Development charity. 

Urban Bees

Social enterprise Urban Bees was set up in 2009 by Brian McCallum, a former government bee inspector, and former Guardian journalist Alison Benjamin. “We had become beekeepers and wanted to share our passion with other city-dwellers and to make the urban environment more bee-friendly,” says Benjamin.

“Our first training apiary was in Battersea, south London. We now live in Hackney, east London. With funding from The Co-op’s Plan Bee, we set up a teaching apiary in Camley Street Nature Reserve in King’s Cross and a community apiary in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park. We now produce Regent's Park honey from an apiary in the royal park, maintain honeybee hives and bee-friendly planters for corporate clients, and educate – through books, newsletters, talks and consultancy – about how to help all species of bees, not just honeybees.” Clients include Lush, KPMG and Savills.

The 2022 Regent's Park Honey will be available from the website in packs of three (£30) from August. Buy honey from previous years at Melrose and Morgan and La Fromagerie. The pair also run bee tours in Regent’s Park (£50 per person).

Susan Low
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