The Paddock Apiary is located on National Trust property and is part of the Shugborough Estate. We re-located to this new site in November 2021 whilst the National Trust renovates the walled garden adjacent to our original location.
The Shugborough Apiary, is our main teaching Apiary where we maintain between 15-20 hives and a number of nucleus colonies. The Association works closely with the National Trust and it is where we host the Beginning Beekeeping Course, our Honeybee Experience Days and maintain hives for use in Basic Assessments for our ‘improvers’ group, to enable them to work and practice more advance techniques of swarm control and colony increase. We aim to demonstrate shook swarm, horizontal and vertical splitting and bailey comb change very season.
We are open to members on Saturday mornings for colony inspections from 30th April 2022 at 10am, which usually last a couple of hours. We endeavour to support new beekeepers develop their skills by joining group inspections led by the Apiary Working Group, who are responsible for overseeing the health and maintenance of the hives. Weekly inspections continue until the middle of September.
We currently have capacity for 20 hive stands and a nursery area designated to the creation of nucleus hives which we offer for sale to those graduating from our Beginner Beekeeping Course, or new Beekeepers who require them. The bees generously provide us with their surplus honey which we extract and sell to supplement our expenses.
On Thursday evenings from the 19th May 2022, our Members are invited to our social evenings between 7 – 9pm, which are a mixture of friendly chats over a cup of tea or observing one of our Education Teams demonstrations (which are obviously weather dependant). Should rain prevent demonstrations taking place, topical discussions are held in the marquee. The choice to attend is entirely yours but, as we all know, beekeepers enjoy sharing their experiences and knowledge.
As a teaching apiary we work very closely with our Education Team to provide them with the necessary requirements for the various courses and modules they deliver to candidates to help develop their practical beekeeping skills.
Location
What3Word location:
///dumplings.rocker.fully
SJ99282128
Access and parking during the National Trust’s standard opening hours is through the main gate. You do not have to produce a membership card if you are attending the apiary meetings. Please park in the main car park as there is limited parking at the Apiary site.
Should you have mobility issues, please contact us for access as there are a limited number of spaces available for those who need it.
Shugborough Apiary Coordinators
If you have any queries or concerns when visiting the Shugborough Apiary, please do not hesitate to get in touch with one of the Apiary Coordinators:
Alan Brewin – 07598 324400
Chris Brewin – 07530 217112