Lasswade is a historic village in the North Esk valley below Bonnyrigg, set in a sheltered wooded gorge where the river drops past the ruins of Lasswade Old Church and the restored paper mill at Polton. The North Esk at Lasswade is flanked by mature sycamore, beech and ash woodland on the valley sides, with hawthorn and elder in the understorey and dense bramble on the sunny riverbank. The village's sheltered valley position means spring arrives early relative to the surrounding plateau, and the dense tree cover gives a concentrated sycamore flow in May. William Drummond of Hawthornden lived here; the estate grounds above the gorge carry notable lime and horse chestnut. White clover on the farmland plateau above the village is the main mid-summer flow.
Collectors attend swarms in the North Esk gorge sycamore and beech woodland at Polton and Lasswade Old Church, on the hawthorn and bramble of the sunny east-facing riverbank slopes, on the Hawthornden estate lime and horse chestnut above the gorge, and in the stone eave and chimney voids of the older mill and estate cottages along Lasswade Road.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
CA6 4HN· approx. 105 km
Visit websiteNE65 9QH· approx. 113 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.
