Taster Days
“I thoroughly enjoyed my beekeeping taster day, learnt a lot about bees and honey production, and loved being able to spend time amongst the hives.”
Jules H
Take the first step toward hobby beekeeping
These day courses are held at our Honeyworks Beekeeping centre where friendly, experienced beekeepers will allow you to learn the first skills of beekeeping. You will enjoy looking inside a beehive, watching the bees at work and trying to find the queen in amongst the thousands of worker bees. You will also find out about different approaches to beekeeping, what equipment is needed and get an idea of how much time you need to spend. There will be plenty of time for discussion and questions with our very experienced beekeepers. Perhaps this could be the start of your new pastime.
The training centre is a working apiary, so you will experience bees in the air when you enter the apiary training facilities. Theory sessions will be held under cover, but practical sessions will be outdoors provided the weather is OK
Taster Days typically run from around 10am to 4pm, so please do bring a packed lunch and refreshments.
The cost for the Taster Day is £60. Places are limited and courses do sometimes fill up quickly, so book early to avoid disappointment.
"Really fascinating day with a good mix of information, hands on with the bees and extracting honey. I’ve recommended it to loads of people already" - Duncan W
Taster Day vouchers are very popular gifts for special occasions. To book a session or give this as a present please buy the “Taster Day” gift card by clicking the link below. You will receive an email with your gift card code that can be used to book an available date. Please remember you need to purchase a “ Taster Day” voucher before you can book on line.
A typical Taster Day
10.00 - Introduction and outline of the day.
10.30 - Bee Theory
11.00 - Coffee Break
11.30 - Practical session looking at hive types, beekeeping equipment (smoker, hive tools etc), Manipulation of frames and frame making.
13.00 – Lunch
13.30 - Suiting Up & preparing for looking in a hive
14.00 - Opening up the Hives
15.45 - Return to bee sheds
16:00 - Closing the day - discussions & questions
By the end of the day attendees will;
appreciate the ecology of the honeybee colony
learn how to identify worker, drone and queen bees
understand the basics of the lifecycle of the honey bee and the beekeeping year
have seen a demonstration of at least two designs of beehive (Dartington and National)
experienced getting close to working bees
know about some of the main pests and diseases of honey bees
have handled the products of a beehive (honey, wax, propolis)
have handled a range of equipment used in beekeeping
understand the importance of site selection for beekeeping
be aware of support for new beekeepers (eg BBKA, BuzzWorks, Beebase, National Honey Show).