Shropshire Hills Honey

03/05/2026

🥰

30/04/2026

**Out of Stock Until Early June!**.

These past couple of years I've usually managed to produce enough honey to last through late season and winter, even after accounting for colony losses and the usual spring build-up to replace them. While 2025 wasn't my strongest year, it certainly wasn't a bad one either. The problem this time is that demand has been exceptionally high, and as of today, I've completely sold out.

Regular customers know I track my stock levels, weekly sales, and yearly trends very closely. I could see it was going to be tight, and I've been doing everything possible to avoid running out. In fact, many of you will have noticed I've been much quieter on here lately — deliberately cutting back on promotion to try and stretch the remaining supply for my loyal buyers.

Unfortunately, the extra boost from word-of-mouth and new people discovering the page has been stronger than expected over the last couple of months, and we just didn't quite make it to the next harvest.

So, there won't be any honey available for sale for the next 5–6 weeks. In the meantime, I'll be focusing all my attention on giving the bees the best possible conditions to produce a strong crop.

I'll keep you updated as soon as the honey is ready — from extraction through to jarring and delivery. It will likely be first-come, first-served to some extent, and I'll need to fulfil my regular shop orders first, but there should still be plenty to go around once the main late-July harvest comes in. By then, my stores usually look healthy enough for the whole year ahead.

Just a quick note: because of how harvesting works, the fastest way to get honey is to be flexible about which apiary it comes from. I always keep the batches from different locations separate, so if you have a strong preference for honey from a specific spot, let me know — but being open to any of them will get it to you sooner.

As always, the bees will do what they do best. But so far, things are looking promising.

Mark. 🐝 Shropshire Hills Honey 🐝

25/02/2026

Wishing the team at Baked Bean Ironbridge all the best on their soft opening day.

Shropshire Hills Honey is available now in the shop too 🐝

So go on, what could be better to put on a toasted slice of their Sourdough, than genuinely local honey. Collected with care from bees that forage in the Gorge, and along the banks of the River Severn.

09/01/2026

Ivy Honey now available

Experiencing a stubborn cough, scratchy throat, or ongoing respiratory irritation lately?

While many reach for plain honey to ease throat discomfort, Ivy honey stands out as a particularly excellent choice for supporting respiratory wellness.

This special variety is celebrated for its gentle, natural soothing qualities and potential to help ease breathing-related unease. It contains Saponins — plant compounds recognized for their ability to act as natural expectorants. These help loosen and break up thick, sticky mucus, reduce buildup in the airways, and interrupt the frustrating loop of constant coughing and throat tickling.

Beyond that, Ivy honey is loaded with powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory elements that can calm inflamed tissues, ease irritation in the throat, and support healthier breathing overall. Pairing it with a few drops of propolis tincture can enhance these comforting effects even further.

Producing true mono-floral Ivy honey is quite challenging, as bees usually gather nectar from a mix of blooms. However, late in the season — when ivy blooms — conditions can align perfectly for a nearly pure harvest. This requires robust bee colonies that aren't yet in winter mode, along with mild, warm weather to encourage nectar flow and allow foraging.

The result is a wonderfully thick, almost toffee-like honey thanks to its high glucose levels. It carries a distinctive, inviting aroma with warm, spicy notes that many compare to freshly baked gingerbread.

Ivy Honey sets hard and fast, almost overnight, and would prove difficult to get out of a jar, so as an experiment this year we are selling it in slab form in packaging similar to posh cakes.

Our hardworking Shropshire honey bees produce some of the finest Ivy honey around — rich, authentic, and full of character. You can get it straight from us or through our trusted local resellers.

[The information provided here is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition]

16/11/2024

Another Honey drop to The Green Cove has been delivered. The first lot sold out really quickly. Local Honey gathered from around The Wrekin.
In buying you'll not only have a great tasting honey, and the opportunity to buy lots of other healthy products, but be supporting two small local business' Love Wellington

31/10/2024

Shropshire Hills Honey is now available at The Green Cove In Wellington Market.
Our Honey is collected by bees foraging around the Wrekin, and the banks of the River Severn, so you can be assured it really is local.

Thank you Jo for supporting a small local food producer.

20/07/2024

The bees at our other apiary, are lucky enough to be surrounded by phacelia, and judging by the noise they are loving it.

29/11/2023

If you are local and would like to buy some of our wonderful Shropshire Hills Honey
Please click on the link below to visit our online shop.
At the minute I can't do postage, so it's either collection from Leighton SY5 or if you live close to The Wrekin (Ironbridge, Telford and villages) I can deliver to you when I am next passing in that direction.

Local Honey gathered by bees lucky enough to live in Leighton, at the foot of The Wrekin, on the banks of the River Severn.

29/11/2023

Just a comment on some media reports on an thermodynamics engineers suggestion that bees have been suffering from cold in wooden hives for over 100 years.

Rest assured as beekeepers , the last thing anyone would want is for their bees to suffer in the cold, bees live all around us in hollow trees, unused chimneys, anything that provides a hollow of suitable size.
A fair proportion of those fail every year for various reasons, but that's nature's way, and as long as they produce at least one Queen per colony the status quo is met, and as a species they survive.

Hives have developed over the years, and I now use a mixture of 100% poly hives with a far greater thermal efficiency than wood. I also use wood that is insulated, in a similar way to our houses, though without the grants to do it 😉

This enables the colonies to spend the winter clustered and cozy, they consume less food as they are warmer, leaning them set up for a flying start once spring comes.

A good few jars of honey still available, either here from the Leighton bees, or from their neighbours the other side of the Wrekin at Ellerdine Lakes Honey . Limited numbers of runny, but lots of the fabulous soft set still available .

31/07/2023

It's finally here..... Local Wildflower Honey, and also a superb Soft Set Honey available now, all from our Bees in the village of Leighton, at the foot of The Wrekin, and on the bank of the River Severn.

Free local delivery by arrangement. Sorry no postal service at the minute.

To purchase visit our store

Local Honey gathered by bees lucky enough to live in Leighton, at the foot of The Wrekin, on the banks of the River Severn.

20/02/2023

A Bees eye view of Ellerdine Lakes Trout Fishery. Home to some more of my bees. Producing their Ellerdine Lakes Honey from the wildflowers and hedgerows around the lakes.