i will always recommend doing a course however if you cant find one then team up with a local beek and work along side him/her for a year so you can lrean and watch the hive build up, try to swarm, produce honey and shrink for winter.
All the best and welcome to a great hobbie
This is possibly the best course of action. I would have loved to have a beek I could have visited to see if I was one for the 'ladies' before I plunged in even to a course.
This is something I have mentioned at my division. Although people can organise for you to visit a beek, it would be easier if there was a list.
Is that something we might consider as a sticky? That way we could have a list of beeks happy to show the uninitiated some basic manipulations and get them on the right path before making any silly errors that might put them off.
There would need to be some minima, such as protective clothing, but despite my novitiate status, I would happily show people some very basic stuff (already have a couple) because the fascination and curiosity can be both the motivator and the initial Obstacle to getting started.
It could be as simple as a list of beeks names, region and a day they might find time for a newbie. They could then be PM-ed to set up a meet.
Of course, if people didn't fancy that, it might be something admin could hold In case these questions arose and they could be PM-ed off board.
I'm sure someone has suggested this before, so I'll wait to be shot down in flames.