We’re always interested to hear about suitable sites for apiaries or for our members to keep bees.

This could be a moderately sized garden, an allotment or a patch of waste ground. The area does not need to be particularly large – just sufficient for a hive or two. The location should be sunny but provide shelter from wind and rain, allow reasonable access while being out-of-the-way from the public, and ideally have a source of water nearby.

If you can offer such a site please contact us. Our members are spread across West London, so you could have a beekeeper living nearby who is looking for a place to keep bees.

The benefits of keeping hives on your site include improved pollination of crops (for gardens and allotments) and, of course, some honey. The traditional rent is a 1lb (454g) jar of honey delivered on Michaelmas Day on 29 September.

The British Beekeepers Association provide useful information leaflets on choosing apiary sites which are available to download.