Kempsey is a ribbon village on the east bank of the Severn 5 km south of Worcester, built along the old river road with a Georgian village green, a notable medieval church of St Mary the Virgin and the alluvial flood meadows of the Severn as its western boundary. The Worcester BKA covers the village, and the surrounding landscape — the Severn watermeadows and riverside willows at the Kempsey flood plain, the old orchard and market-garden land of the Defford and Upton road fringe, the hedgerow-rich mixed farmland of the Malvern Chase country on the higher ground to the south-west, and the parkland limes of the larger properties on the village edge — gives local bees a river-valley season closely tied to the great Severn corridor.
Collectors regularly attend swarms in the older garden remnants and mature lime and chestnut trees of the village green and Church Street, along the Severn riverside willows and watermeadow margins at Nash and Kempsey Ham, in the hedgerow oaks and old orchard ground of the Defford and Upton lanes, and in the chimney stacks and eaves of the older timber-framed and Georgian farmhouses throughout the village.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
WR1 1AA· approx. 4 km
Visit websiteWR6 6JT· approx. 16 km
Visit websiteWR11 4UG· approx. 18 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
The Vale of Evesham opens the year with apple, pear, plum and the last surviving commercial asparagus flowers. Oilseed rape fills the middle fields; hawthorn and sycamore line the lanes. Lime dominates the June streetscape of Worcester, Malvern and Kidderminster. The Malvern Hills bring limestone grassland herbs and a small late-summer heather supplement on the upper slopes; bramble is universal. The tail of the year still carries some traditional hop-garden forage around Bromsgrove, and ivy on the old black-and-white villages closes the season.
More on beekeeping in WorcestershireReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
