Broadstone is a residential suburb on the northern edge of Poole, developed from a Victorian railway village on the old Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. Its wide avenues of Victorian and Edwardian housing back onto Broadstone recreation ground and the heathland SSSI on its northern boundary, giving bees in the suburban gardens access to heather on the urban fringe. The area's mature gardens carry established lime, horse chestnut and ornamental planting that extends the season beyond the adjacent heathland.
Collectors attend swarms in the mature lime and horse chestnut in the older residential avenues, in the heather and gorse on the Broadstone heathland at the northern edge of the built area, and in the dense garden vegetation of the extensive detached housing plots.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
BH18 8AH· approx. 1 km
Visit websiteBH22 8SS· approx. 8 km
Visit websiteDT11 0SF· approx. 23 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
The season opens on gorse at Turbary Common and Canford Heath from February; blackthorn in the chine hedgerows follows. Lime in Bournemouth's public gardens — the Central, Upper and Lower Gardens along the Bourne chine — delivers a fine late-June flow. The Hengistbury Head headland and Stanpit Marsh carry sea-lavender, sea-aster and coastal scrub into August. Bramble is dense in the chines and on the heath edges. Bell heather and ling on Canford Heath and Turbary Common give a late-July to September supplement that few coastal UA areas in southern England can match. Coastal ivy on cliff-face gardens and older bungalow walls closes the year.
More on beekeeping in Bournemouth, Christchurch and PooleReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
