Cambus is an ancient village at the confluence of the Devon Water and the River Forth, west of Alloa on the Forth Carse. The name is Brittonic for "bay" or "bend of the river" and the site has been inhabited since at least the early medieval period; a noted whisky distillery operated here from the eighteenth century until the twentieth. The flat floodplain between Cambus and the Forth carries arable fields that include oilseed rape in some years, providing an important April-to-May spring flow, and the Devon Water arrives through a sheltered corridor of alder, hawthorn and willow rich in forage from early spring into autumn. The Forth shore here is one of the more accessible inland-facing riverbanks in the county.
Collectors attend swarms on the Devon Water alder and hawthorn bankside between Cambus and the Forth confluence, in the mature garden trees of the older properties near the former distillery site, on the Forth riverside scrub and flood-meadow elder to the east of the village, and in the eave voids and stonework of the traditional sandstone buildings on the main lane through the village.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
CA6 4HN· approx. 140 km
Visit websiteNE65 9QH· approx. 162 km
Visit websiteCA13 0AU· approx. 164 km
Association data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
Oilseed rape on the Forth Carse between Alloa, Tullibody and the Stirling boundary is the dominant April-to-May flow, one of the most reliable in central Scotland, and sets fast so requires prompt extraction. White clover follows on the improved lowland pastures and the amenity grasslands of the Alloa park network from June through July. Sycamore on the Devon and Black Devon valley margins and in the Ochil village gardens drives the May gap flow. Hawthorn is prolific on the lower hillside hedgerows and the field boundaries of the Carse. The Ochil Hills above Alva, Tillicoultry and Dollar carry extensive heather moorland from mid-July through September; the steep access tracks allow colonies to be moved up for a late-season heather crop. Bramble on former industrial sites around Alloa and on the Ochil lower slopes extends the summer forage into August. Himalayan balsam is establishing along the Devon Water corridor. Ivy on the older sandstone buildings of Alloa and Clackmannan closes the calendar in October.
More on beekeeping in ClackmannanshireReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
