Moordown is a densely residential area in the northern part of Bournemouth, developed mainly between the wars as the town expanded from its Victorian pier-resort core. Its wide suburban avenues carry mature lime and sycamore; King's Park and the Slades Farm open space provide green corridors with established lime-tree planting and bramble-edge margins. The area is well served by Bournemouth and Dorset South BKA, whose members are experienced with Victorian and interwar suburban swarm situations.
Collectors attend swarms in the mature lime and sycamore along the interwar residential avenues, in the bramble and scrub at King's Park and Slades Farm, and in the garden outbuildings and older semi-detached house eaves throughout the Moordown estate roads.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
BH22 8SS· approx. 4 km
Visit websiteBH18 8AH· approx. 9 km
Visit websiteSO41 5QG· approx. 24 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.
