I am pleased to announce that we now have bee hives at Hyde Hall.
Just two colonies at the moment, the others are out and busy pollinating Borage.
The colonies are positioned to the east of the site on top of the hill just above the wild flower meadow.
Each colony contains approx 50,000 bees and they have reached the stage where the bees are collecting nectar, surplus to their own needs, so this will be converted to honey. The bees are a New Zealand / Italian strain and are renowned for their gentle nature and good foraging abilities.
The colonies will be opened on our three family fun days (subject to suitable weather conditions) at 11am and 2pm on:
Thu 14 August 2008
Wed 20 August 2008
Wed 27 August 2008
You will then have a view inside the amazing world of the honey bee and be able to find out what bees use pollen for. You've seen the pollen on the bees legs, but why doesn't it fall off?
You will also have the opportunity to try candle rolling on the family fun days. So why not come along and make a beeswax candle (a small charge of 50p will apply per candle).
In the meantime watch this space as I will keep you informed of other days and times when the colonies will be opened.