We are a friendly club and can trace our routes back to 1917 when beekeepers in the Sevenoaks area came together to pool knowledge, experience and encourage new beekeepers in the art of beekeeping. The club has thrived since with a few bumps along the way but we now have over 150 members making us one of the largest branches of the Kent Beekeeper’s Association (KBKA).
Between us we have a wide range of experiences and if you are thinking of taking up beekeeping there is a vast pool of knowledge for you to draw on. However remember, if you ask two beekeepers a question you are likely to get several opinions and the reason is bees are wild animals and if you have several hives they will all behave slightly differently depending on the temperament of the queen. So there’s no single way of doing it right, but there are many ways of doing it wrong!!
To celebrate our centenary in 2017 we had a trip to Chartwell where Winston Churchill had his own apiary which continues to this day. Click on the link here to find out more.
Contact Us
Please click here for details on how to make contact with us.
Branch Apiaries
The Branch has two apiary sites where we organise regular training meetings between March and September and we also have an excellent lecture programme during the winter months.
Our two Club Apiaries are Barrwood near Shipbourne and Hilbert Road Apiary in Tunbridge Wells. For information about visiting and directions to each apiary please contact the respective apiary managers (click here for details).
There are numerous hive sizes/types avaialable in the UK and as the National hive is the most popular, we have standardised on this hive at both our apiaries. We do also have one or two alternative style hives set up and being used, to allow us to show benefits and disadvantages of each for members to judge for themselves which is most suitable for their needs.
However, the hive most people associate with beekeeping are the WBC ‘Picture Postcard’ hives, shown below. So why are WBC hives not the most popular? If you click on this PDF Types of Beehive you will see how our our members critically rated the various type of hives including the National and WBC.
Training
Each year we organise a series of training sessions to introduce those with an interest in keeping bees to learn more about what is involved. No previous experience is required for attending these sessions which will include a visit to one of our apiaries in the Spring when the weather warms up. For more information please click here.
Offer an Apiary
If you would like to have a beekeeper keep bees on your property for example in an orchard or field, then please get in contact with our Branch Secretary (secretary@sevenoaksbeekeepers.org.uk). Please provide brief details of the location Post Code, type of location e.g. orchard, arable land, meadow or large garden, plus your name and contact details and we will be happy to get in touch to discuss the opportunity.
