When and how did you start beekeeping?

[Nannysbees]

I just watched a webinar with Roger Patterson, he was saying he started beekeeping at the age of 15 in 1963 the year I was born funnily enough!!!! He found a hive with bees in a hedge and asked the owner could he buy them, he's been a beekeeper ever since. So I was wondering how my fellow beeks got into the craft and when?Are you first generation beekeepers or did you follow in a family members footsteps?

 

[E&MBees]

I started in 2019, after spending many years thinking about it. I’m a first generation beekeeper. My family think I’m mad, but they enjoy the honey.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I started in 2008 when I took early retirement and moved away from suburban London. I had been thinking about it for years after seeing a friend's father keeping bees on his kitchen roof in Richmond. I joined a local beekeeping group, took a course from them in the very basics then another at a local tech where the teacher advocated shook swarming for just about everything. I bought a nuc from heaven knows where and got a free one from my association. I lost a few swarms that first year. Then I found this forum which thankfully undid most of the twaddle I had learned. Still learning. No ambitions to do anything fancy...just keep a few hives for fun.

 

[PeaBee]

Started in mid 80s when my dad did a course then caught his first swarm when I was 10. I got interested right from the start and would help him right through my school years. He caught the bug in a big way and ended retiring early and expanding to beefarmer size. Uni and the army meant I was not around as much but I would still beekeep with him when on leave. Unfortunately age and illness meant that he reduced back to a more modest hobby scale and that is what I inherited from him when he passed away. Now back in beefarmer scale.

 

[Newbeeneil]

I started in 2015 after attending a Bee Taster Day run by Wisborough Green BKA. Roger Patterson was running it with some other extremely good beekeepers who kept me entranced the whole day. I joined up immediately and got a swarm from a fellow member within 3 months.
I took early retirement later that year and now spend too much time with the bees! ( or so SWMBO says.)

 

[enrico]

1982. my wife went back to university to take A levels as we started a family early!! She donated her university grant (Yes there was one!!) to something I wanted to do so I went out and bought a flat pack bee hive. My blog on this site tells you the rest!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

My grandfather started keeping bees around 1940, mentored/overseen by various uncles and neighbours, although he gave up his bees in the 1960's (no idea why) he would still go on about bees at any opportunity, when I was about nine he gave me his copy of Digges and I was hooked.
life got in the way for years and even though SWMBO thought beekeeping would be a good idea, me working at sea and the usual suspect advice from the usual 'experts' we put the plan on hold.
Then SWMBO's interest was revived when, after working with the aftermath of the Foot and Mouth outbreak, as part of her job in Welsh government she worked closely with the NBU - I realised there would never be a 'right time' and hives and a nuc of bees magically appeared in the garden.
After that, thanks to this forum I was one of the lucky forumites who spent some time on a 'works experience' stint at ChrisB's Salt Farm apiaries in Bromsgrove, then a cry for help from my local butcher who was struggling to find local honey to sell in his shop meant it became pretty obvious I would never be happy with two hives at the bottom of the garden.

 

[Amari]

This is my 50th year - father in law (a disciple of Beowolf Cooper in Derbyshire) kept bees and gave me a colony. Those were were the halcyon days when counties each had a bee officer, usually based at the local agricultural college - Sparsholt in Hampshire in my case. John Cossburn taught us theory one week alternating with hive-making the next week in the college woodwork shop. I kept my hives in the grounds of the local cottage hospital.

 

[Murox]

As a boy I learnt from my grandfather; when he died I was still too young to take over his hives so they were given to another local chap who happened to live opposite me in the village, though the bees were kept in a fallow field over the hedge behind our house . When he died I had just left school and the bees were given to me. Life got in the way I moved away for employment and I gave up keeping for a long time only rekindling my interest when we returned to UK at retirement time.

 

[Hedgerow Honey]

Have been around bees most of my life. Grandfather ran 32 colonies in WBC hives, I can just about remember removing lifts and collecting swarms for him back in the early 70's, I did most of the spinning during that era as well. We had an apiary alongside the river Alyn that on a few occasions flooded and we rescued hives with canoes. I had hives at secondary school that I helped with also. Keeping bees was an awful lot easier back then, lots of forage, no varrora, few ag chemicals, in our area anyhow, Grandfather was devastated when we first acquired mites in colonies.
Things were done very simply, queens raised from cell's and introduced to nucs two days from hatching. Colonies raising swarm cell's had queen removed & left with one cell. Didn't always work and we had swarms, usually on a Saturday just before the pigeons were due back. Used to get tidy crops though, always remember how grandfather complained to the nearest farmer about the introduction of OSR into the area.
Bees were sold & given away when I went to the USA in the 90's.
I started up again on your own during 2009 and have slowly expanded ever since.
Biggest regret in life is not making a career out of the Bees sooner, always feels like a missed opportunity.

 

[The Poot]

There was a period about 10 - 12 years ago when I used to take my daughter to her workplace on the way to mine. We used to natter. I once expressed an interest in keeping bees...
On my 60th birthday, close to Christmas, I was presented with a National hive (from Peak Hives) which my son in law had built for me at my daughters instruction. She said “now you have no excuse...”
I bought a nucleus colony from Exmoor Bees in 2014, after attending a beekeeping course through the Winter. (I picked up quite a lot of “myth information” from the Master Beekeeper who gave the instruction I have subsequently realised). I didn’t have a mentor and owing to working requirement, was unable to attend apiary meetings, so my first hands on experience was with my own bees. It didn’t always go well.
I am still very much a learner but bee fever certainly became part of my life. Having retired in June 2020, I now hope to finesse my beekeeping to a greater extent.

 

[Nannysbees]

Yes same as me, I've wanted bees for years but worried about them in the garden, worried we hadn't gone on a course due to lockdown etc. Nobody in my family had kept bees but they are all fascinated and as you say love the honey

I started in 2015 after attending a Bee Taster Day run by Wisborough Green BKA. Roger Patterson was running it with some other extremely good beekeepers who kept me entranced the whole day. I joined up immediately and got a swarm from a fellow member within 3 months.
I took early retirement later that year and now spend too much time with the bees! ( or so SWMBO says.)

He's a character, straight to the point and lots of interesting stories

 

[Nannysbees]

My grandfather started keeping bees around 1940, mentored/overseen by various uncles and neighbours, although he gave up his bees in the 1960's (no idea why) he would still go on about bees at any opportunity, when I was about nine he gave me his copy of Digges and I was hooked.
life got in the way for years and even though SWMBO thought beekeeping would be a good idea, me working at sea and the usual suspect advice from the usual 'experts' we put the plan on hold.
Then SWMBO's interest was revived when, after working with the aftermath of the Foot and Mouth outbreak, as part of her job in Welsh government she worked closely with the NBU - I realised there would never be a 'right time' and hives and a nuc of bees magically appeared in the garden.
After that, thanks to this forum I was one of the lucky forumites who spent some time on a 'works experience' stint at ChrisB's Salt Farm apiaries in Bromsgrove, then a cry for help from my local butcher who was struggling to find local honey to sell in his shop meant it became pretty obvious I would never be happy with two hives at the bottom of the garden.

That's fascinating and the fact you have your wife interested as well is a bonus?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

That's fascinating and the fact you have your wife interested as well is a bonus?

Apart from the fact she has developed a severe allergy to bee stings so steers well clear (which is nice )

 

[Nannysbees]

Have been around bees most of my life. Grandfather ran 32 colonies in WBC hives, I can just about remember removing lifts and collecting swarms for him back in the early 70's, I did most of the spinning during that era as well. We had an apiary alongside the river Alyn that on a few occasions flooded and we rescued hives with canoes. I had hives at secondary school that I helped with also. Keeping bees was an awful lot easier back then, lots of forage, no varrora, few ag chemicals, in our area anyhow, Grandfather was devastated when we first acquired mites in colonies.
Things were done very simply, queens raised from cell's and introduced to nucs two days from hatching. Colonies raising swarm cell's had queen removed & left with one cell. Didn't always work and we had swarms, usually on a Saturday just before the pigeons were due back. Used to get tidy crops though, always remember how grandfather complained to the nearest farmer about the introduction of OSR into the area.
Bees were sold & given away when I went to the USA in the 90's.
I started up again on your own during 2009 and have slowly expanded ever since.
Biggest regret in life is not making a career out of the Bees sooner, always feels like a missed opportunity.

Roger mentioned that pre- varroa made beekeeping an absolute joy

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes same as me, I've wanted bees for years but worried about them in the garden, worried we hadn't gone on a course due to lockdown etc. Nobody in my family had kept bees but they are all fascinated and as you say love the honey
He's a character, straight to the point and lots of interesting stories

I like his dog.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Roger mentioned that pre- varroa made beekeeping an absolute joy

I remember in the early nineties having clients who kept bees and there were some alarming stories. I wondered what all the fuss was about a little mite. Stupid me !

 

[Newbeeneil]

I like his dog.

He has 2. Nell and Rosie

 

[Erichalfbee]

Ah it’s Nell. She’s the only one I’ve seen. Roger did a talk to our BKA some years back. 2 frame nucs and keeping bees cold in winter. I tried the former but didn’t like it. The second I never would.

 

[madasafish]

I started taking an interest in late 2009 at the age of 62.
I decided as I was not sure if I would like it, I would diy and started with cheap easy to build Top Bar Hives in May 2010. (Pallets about £15/hive)
Built up to 7 TBHs by 2014: decided it was a lot of work for little return and switched to Langstroth By 2015 I had 7 Langs. Was nearly wiped out by AFB- down to one hive which I split/artificial swarmed to give five hives and was given two by some excellent friends.

Now run six full hives and lots of nucs/mini nucs for Queen Rearing.

Wish I has started earlier but high pressure job and travel would have rendered it impossible. Most enjoyable hobby I have had apart from yoga.