Ely is a large residential community in west Cardiff, one of the most significant inner-suburban areas of the Welsh capital, bounded by the River Ely to the south and the farmland fringe at St Fagans to the west. The River Ely corridor carries riverside willows, alder, meadowsweet and himalayan balsam through the summer, and the St Fagans agricultural land to the west still has traditional hawthorn hedgerows and apple orchards. The broad residential gardens of the interwar streets carry white clover and ornamental shrubs; sycamore is on every road; and ivy on rendered walls closes the autumn.
Collectors attend swarms along the River Ely riverside path and its elder and bramble scrub, on the garden walls and chimney pots of the interwar residential streets off Grand Avenue and Wilson Road, in the hawthorn and sycamore hedgerows on the farmland edge towards St Fagans, in the allotment sites near Cowbridge Road West, and in the ornamental garden borders of the wider residential avenues.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
CF5 6LW· approx. 5 km
CF32 8UU· approx. 24 km
BS24 7AY· approx. 28 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
Early flows come from cherry plum and blackthorn in Bute and Roath parks. Sycamore and horse chestnut fill May; the lime collection in Bute Park is one of the largest in any UK city, giving a classic pale urban lime honey in June. Bramble is dense along the Taff Trail; rosebay willowherb flushes the former dock brownfield of Cardiff Bay. Coastal sea-lavender and samphire at Rhymney Great Wharf add a distinctive saline note; ivy on Victorian terraces closes the year.
More on beekeeping in CardiffReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
