Holt — Holt — is an historic border town on the Dee, linked by a fourteenth-century stone bridge to Farndon in England. The castle ruins beside the river and the Dee's broad pastoral floodplain downstream make Holt one of the most picturesque settings in north-east Wales. The floodplain meadows between Holt and Farndon are among the best surviving traditional hay meadows in this part of the Dee valley, with white clover, oxeye daisy, and meadow cranesbill; the river willows and alder carr add a useful summer supplement. Market gardening has a long history around Holt and adds orchard and kitchen-garden forage.
Collectors cover swarms in the castle-side gardens and older stone properties of the town, in the floodplain meadow edges and hawthorn hedgerows along the Dee between Holt and Shocklach, along the riverside willows and alder at the bridge and downstream, and in the eaves and garden trees of the residential properties throughout Holt.
Nearest BBKA-affiliated associations to help with swarm collection and local advice.
SY133JL· approx. 20 km
Visit websiteCH7 6BQ· approx. 23 km
Visit websiteSY11 4AD· approx. 24 km
Visit websiteAssociation data sourced from the British Beekeepers Association directory via SwarmBase.
Hawthorn and blackthorn are dense in the ancient hedge lines of the vale of Llangollen and the Dee valley. Sycamore fills every valley slope and sheltered lane, giving a reliable early-May flow. Oilseed rape is grown on the flatter arable land east of Wrexham toward the English border and the Maelor plain. Lime trees line the older streets of Wrexham city centre and the grounds of Erddig Hall (National Trust). Bramble is prolific on the Esclusham Mountain and on the Ruabon Moor edge. Heather and bilberry contribute from Ruabon Mountain and the Cyrn-y-Brain ridge above the city. White clover on the permanent pasture of the lower Ceiriog valley is still a useful flow in a good year.
More on beekeeping in WrexhamReport it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.
