Looking for out apiary

[Fizz]

Hi all
I am about to move house and I would like to move my bees when i go. Ideally i would like to find some space away from the house. How does one go about finding space for an out apiary? Are there any options for using waste ground or is that completely illegal? Thanks

 

[TomH]

If you're on facebook, see if you can find a local community/village page to ask. I did similar and was spoilt for choice with offers from farmers/land owners will to have hives on their land.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hi all
I am about to move house and I would like to move my bees when i go. Ideally i would like to find some space away from the house. How does one go about finding space for an out apiary? Are there any options for using waste ground or is that completely illegal? Thanks

Join and contact the local BKA? They often have members offering land
You need a secure site. Waste ground may well be illegal but it will definitely be insecure

 

[Newbeeneil]

If you're on facebook, see if you can find a local community/village page to ask. I did similar and was spoilt for choice with offers from farmers/land owners will to have hives on their land.

I second that. When I asked on FB I had 5 reply’s within 1 hr and about 25 in 24hrs!

 

[PeaBee]

Agree on the social media or just go old fashioned and identify somewhere suitable knock on a door, shake a hand and seal the deal with a generous few jars of honey. Both approaches have worked for me.

 

[nettle]

I reluctantly re-joined facebook last month to post an ad on a couple of the local groups. I got quite a few offers, and my bees are now happily situated on a nice little croft, far closer to me than their old site 20 miles away! I deleted my profile as soon as I found somewhere. I still hate facebook, but it has its uses, sometimes.

 

[thorn]

Hi all
I am about to move house and I would like to move my bees when i go. Ideally i would like to find some space away from the house. How does one go about finding space for an out apiary? Are there any options for using waste ground or is that completely illegal? Thanks

Even waste ground has an owner. Track him down.
Ask allotment committees, farmers, people with orchards. Knock on doors.

 

[JamezF]

Even waste ground has an owner. Track him down.

I don't believe this is necessarily true, though perhaps it's more likely to be so in London. However as far as I am aware there are areas of land for which there is no recorded owner whatsoever, which leads to a great deal of aggravation when there are problems relating to it.

James

 

[PeaBee]

I don't believe this is necessarily true, though perhaps it's more likely to be so in London. However as far as I am aware there are areas of land for which there is no recorded owner whatsoever, which leads to a great deal of aggravation when there are problems relating to it.

James

From what I have seen when we have had to do land registry searches at work most land is registered to an owner, tracking that owner down can be another matter. The occasions I have come across where no owner has be registered seem to be limited to things like alleyways and very small pockets. I would expect most areas big enough to have an apiary on would have a registered owner.
Certainly a risky thing to put beehives on land without permission, has potential for a can of worms.

 

[JamezF]

From what I have seen when we have had to do land registry searches at work most land is registered to an owner, tracking that owner down can be another matter. The occasions I have come across where no owner has be registered seem to be limited to things like alleyways and very small pockets.

It does appear to be "odd bits" of land in my experience, certainly. Those that have been largely unconsidered for generations because no-one really needed to know. I know of one space locally that would quite happily support a dozen colonies or more, though the neighbours might not be too happy

James

 

[thorn]

From what I have seen when we have had to do land registry searches at work most land is registered to an owner, tracking that owner down can be another matter. The occasions I have come across where no owner has be registered seem to be limited to things like alleyways and very small pockets. I would expect most areas big enough to have an apiary on would have a registered owner.
Certainly a risky thing to put beehives on land without permission, has potential for a can of worms.

Land transactions are recorded at the Land Registry. Leeds became an area of compulsory registration on around 1969, that is, it became compulsory for a purchaser to register it. If a property is still in the hands of the pre-1969 owner it'll not be registered.
Crown lands, church lands, local authority property may well not be registered for that reason. But what James is thinking of would likely be where a pre-registration owner died without leaving a will and no-one can tracked down his heir. If an heir can't be found then the land becomes the property of the Crown or the Duchy of Cornwall. All land in England has an owner, and that's been the case since 1066.

 

[JonnyPicklechin]

Lots of experience on this. Im in West London so space limited. I has a feisty hive or two and needed an out apiary with distance from people. I ended up approaching a stately home who obliged me some space. Generally any large land owner will be open to the idea. I had to move again and the second time I found a National Trust property. I would say that access to the site is the main issue, once you have an interest.
In both cases it took some weeks as I found you need various buyins from parties eg rangers, custodians, land managers.
Its well worth the investment of time effort and patience though. You end up with an out apiary away from people whuch is a peace of mind that you value greatly if you come across the odd feisty hive. Managing this becomes much less stressful.
And in an urban area, it also means a very good foraging area. My current site is on 400 acres of woodland...everyone is happy, particularly the bees!
Good luck...

 

[E&MBees]

I found both my out apiary sites via a local gardening / landscaping company. They keep a lookout for potential sites and let me know accordingly. It works really well.

 

[elainemary]

Like @E&MBees I’ve just found a new site via my gardening group. Fabulous position, south facing set in 2 acres gardens and 22 acres private land, so secluded. Space to tuck them away from the heart of the garden. Mature chestnuts and limes (didn’t know they grew to this size in this area!) and near to blackberry, balsam, lots of willow and heather on the tops. As well as lots of gardens nearby and an orchard in another garden above.
Definitely recommend networking with local Gardeners - they tend to be wildlife oriented, interested in bees, friendly and generous.

 

[Swarm]

Paradise. All that and bees as well.