Dalkeith is Midlothian's county town, set in the fork of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they converge below Dalkeith Palace. The Palace grounds — now the Dalkeith Country Park — contain some of the finest estate woodland in the Lothians: ancient oaks, limes and sycamore in a designed landscape that provides exceptional forage from April through to September. The two Esk rivers carry bankside willows, alders and hawthorn throughout their lower Midlothian courses; oilseed rape on the arable fields east and south of Dalkeith contributes an April-May flow. White clover is strong on the improved pastures of the Esk valley floor, and the town's amenity parks carry clover through June and July.
Collectors attend swarms in the Dalkeith Country Park lime and oak woodland above the Esk confluence, along the North and South Esk bankside willows and hawthorn scrub, on the oilseed rape field margins east of the town toward Cousland, and in the stone chimney stacks and eave voids of the older sandstone properties around High Street and Buccleuch Street.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
CA6 4HN· approx. 107 km
Visit websiteNE65 9QH· approx. 110 km
Visit websiteNE46 3NB· approx. 120 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
Oilseed rape on the Midlothian arable plain between Dalkeith, Pathhead and the East Lothian boundary provides a powerful April-May flow that is one of the most reliable in the Lothians. White clover on the improved pastures of the Esk valley floor and the amenity grasslands of the Midlothian towns is the main mid-summer crop from June through July. Sycamore is the dominant May flow tree throughout the council area, with the best sources in the North Esk gorge woodlands at Roslin Glen and Lasswade. Hawthorn on the valley hedgerows and the Midlothian lane margins provides a complementary May blossom flow. Himalayan balsam is establishing in the lower Esk corridors near Dalkeith. Bramble is dense on former colliery and mining reclamation sites throughout the area. The Pentland Hills above Penicuik and the Moorfoot Hills above Gorebridge carry heather and bilberry from late July — modest but accessible upland heather ground within the council area. Ivy closes the foraging year on Dalkeith Palace estate walls and the older stone buildings of the Esk valley villages in October.
More on beekeeping in MidlothianReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
