Video

Some of the girls are back working the borage. This yields a wonderfully light, clear honey and is where much of our cut honey comb comes from… July 2020

Drones returning from a mating flight – those that come back to the hive have been unsuccessful, the ones who managed to mate with the queen quickly die in quite an unpleasant way… May 2020

The temperature has dropped from 23* to 10* overnight, quietening the girls… May 2020

The bees take pollen from flowers and put it onto hairs on their back legs, called pollen baskets. They’ve had plenty of opportunity to ‘bring in the bacon’ today… May 2020

Bees at one of the woodside apiaries working flat out, foraging oak, sycamore, hawthorn and horse chestnut. Some of the girls were coming back covered in yellow, others in orange – so still working oilseed rape and dandelion… May 2020

Close up of the bees adding final touches to their honey comb. You can see them moulding and shaping with their jaws and occasionally scraping bits of wax back off the wooden frame to incorporate. The contented murmur of 60,000 or more co-workers provides the backing track to a successful day’s foraging… Spring 2020

Sometimes a day in Leigh’s Bees office is extra special – this was one of them. Birds in full song, a field full of beautiful flowers… and the background noise that sounds like distant road traffic… but is, in fact, Leigh’s Bees flying to and from the hives that you can just see at the edge of the wood, gathering their bounty… July 2019

Disgruntled bees who have become queenless, June 2019

Lydia and her friends working phacelia, June 2019

Bottling the first of this year’s honey harvest – well done girls!

The girls are in bee heaven – Norfolk at her finest

Have you ever wondered how new queens arrive at Honey HQ?

Listen to the queens piping – challenging each other to a duel!

The girls making progress creating extra delicate comb from a starter strip. Not using foundation (https://g.co/kgs/PhiZxi) means that if this comb is ultimately destined to be Borage Cut Comb in Kilner jars or cut comb bricks, the customer only eats what is made by the bees and we know exactly where it came from. April 2019.

Leigh leaves the bees with lots of honey to over winter on (which they rarely work their way through) but very occasionally the weather dictates circumstances when a top up is essential for their well-being – that happened this year because of the fabulous early season  weather. Find out more in the video below.

Busy bees Elspeth and Shirley have been working the blackthorn blossom which is currently in full bloom, March 2019.

Oilseed rape is now in flower. Here’s Matilda enjoying the spring sunshine and the bright yellow flowers, March 2019.

Leigh’s Bees working snowdrops in the February sunshine:

… while these are working catkins: