My husband gave me the HWBKA beginners’ course as a birthday present and it has been the highlight of my year! I have so looked forward to my Saturdays and have learned so much more than I anticipated. In addition to all the essential information needed to get started on beekeeping, every single session revealed some nugget of knowledge from the experts. It is really important to go to as many sessions as possible and to stand close to the experts and listen to every word they say!

I got a 6 frame poly nuc of Sussex mongrel bees from Payne’s at the end of April which was perfect timing since I was able to grow my colony whilst doing the course. My bee buddy has been an invaluable source of support and advice and with her help I did a controlled swarm split of my burgeoning colony so I now have two full hives of really strong colonies going into winter. It isn’t as much of a time commitment as I thought it would be and I think you can be as hands-on as you want to be. I love my little furry bees!