Oldbury Honey is pure English hedgerow honey harvested from honey bees kept in the vicinity of the South Gloucestershire village of Oldbury-on-Severn.

The honey is usually harvested once a year around August and is mainly made up from blackberry nectar with a good helping of apple from all the old orchards we still have around here. It is stored in food grade plastic buckets immediately after extraction from the honeycombs, after which it usually granulates immediately.

When needed, the honey is then warmed gently to blood heat so that it liquifies, and is then strained to remove the inevitable bits of wax. It is then jarred into traditional glass jars obtained from local suppliers Rawlings of Warmley, Bristol. Once jarred it is very slow to granulate, probably because the straining has removed the bits of wax that tend to help the granulation process start.

The bees are kept in British Standard National hives favoured by the hobbyist, which are fitted with wire mesh floors to help reduce the numbers of parasitic Varroa mites that have been endemic in this country since the late 1990s. The bees themselves are a mixture of local swarms that I catch each year in bait hives, and colonies headed up by bought in Queens purchased from BHP Queens. These queens are Buckfast Bees, light in colour and extremely gentle. I am a registered member of the Bristish Beekeepers Association and have had my bees inspected by the local bee inspector.

I hope you have enjoyed finding out a bit more about Oldbury Honey. Look out for it on sale in Oldbury the next time you venture out this way.

Mike Pheysey - 9th Jan 2021