Starting Beekeeping
Beekeeping is a fascinating craft and L&DBKA actively encourage new beekeepers. We are keen for anyone to think about starting keeping bees at any time of the year and there are lots of books and publications that can start you on this fascinating journey. The ideal time to start practical beekeeping is in the spring, as this gives you time to learn, and be introduced to beekeeping and if you feel confident perhaps even acquiring your new bees in the same year.
However, we recommend that all new beekeepers first have a go on a practical day to check that they are happy with bees close at hand in an apiary before deciding to invest in the equipment needed to become a beekeeper.
We run Taster Sessions for people wanting to take up beekeeping but have never experienced an open hive. This will give you an opportunity to understand what is involved in beekeeping, the work of the beekeeper and importantly meet the bees. The sessions will be run by one of our friendly experienced members who will be happy to show you around their apiary. Taster Sessions will be run according to demand but generally from June to September. If you would like to register for a Taster Session then please get in touch with the association training team by sending an e-mail to begin@ludlowbeekeepers.org.uk.
Once you have decided to keep bees the first step is some initial training. At L&DBKA we run an annual introduction to beekeeping course starting in March which includes both theory and practical training and we encourage all to book well in advance as this course is proving very popular. See our training pages for more information.
You can also get some good background information from these following publications:
