Bee swarm in Langholm? Help is a minute away.

Langholm is the principal town of Eskdale, a textile mill town on the Esk in the eastern Dumfries and Galloway uplands, where the rivers Esk, Wauchope and Ewes converge below the wooded Langholm Hill. The town was historically famous for its tweed and cashmere mills, and its Common Riding — held on the last Friday of July — is one of the finest in Scotland. The Esk valley below the town carries dense hawthorn and elder in its hedgerows; sycamore is the dominant tree on the sheltered valley slopes and in the mill town streets. The Wauchope and Ewes valleys to the north give access to heather moorland from late July, the key late-season flow for Eskdale beekeepers. White clover is abundant in the unimproved valley-floor meadows that survive along the Esk and its tributaries. The Dumfries and Galloway Beekeepers Association covers this eastern upland area of the region.

The mild Solway climate means spring starts earlier than most of Scotland. Blackthorn and hawthorn open the year; sycamore is important. Oilseed rape is moderate. Lime carries June in Dumfries and Stranraer. Galloway Forest contributes bilberry, rowan and late ling heather; coastal sea-campion on the Solway adds character. Himalayan balsam along the Nith gives a long late flow, and ivy on whitewashed cottage walls closes the year.