Bee swarm collection in South Gloucestershire

Oilseed rape on the Severn Vale farmland between Thornbury, Oldbury-on-Severn and the M5 corridor gives a strong April to May flow; the flat fields around Olveston and Aust carry it particularly heavily. Hawthorn and blackthorn are dense on the Cotswold edge hedgerows above Wickwar, Rangeworthy and Iron Acton, and the Frome valley farmland east of Yate carries a reliable hawthorn flow in late April. Lime trees line the older streets of Kingswood, Staple Hill and Mangotsfield and carry a June town-centre flow. The Filton Airfield and BAE Systems perimeter scrub carries extensive bramble and rosebay willowherb, and the Frampton Cotterell and Coalpit Heath old colliery reclamation ground is dense with bramble through July and August. Sycamore is abundant along field margins and roadside hedgerows throughout the Cotswold edge; white clover on the improved grasslands of the Severn Vale closes the main flow from June to August. Ivy on the Cotswold limestone walls and the older suburban garden walls closes the year in October.

South Gloucestershire Beekeepers' Association (based at Bradley Stoke) is the BBKA-affiliated association for the area, with members in the urban fringe suburbs, Yate, Thornbury and the Cotswold edge villages. Bristol & District BKA is also active in the Kingswood and Staple Hill area. Collectors here handle Victorian terrace chimney pots, modern estate garden walls and farm outbuildings in equal measure.