Getting Started

Beekeeping is a fascinating craft and L&DBKA actively encourages new beekeepers. The ideal time to start practical beekeeping is in the Spring, as this gives you time to learn as “your” colony grows through the season. If you feel confident, you may consider acquiring your own nucleus colony of bees in this first year.

We would strongly advise anyone who hasn’t had any close contact with bees before to attend one of our Taster Sessions before taking the step of becoming a beekeeper. We organise these at the Association Apiary towards the end of the summer. See below for more information.

If you have decided to keep bees, the first step is some initial training. At L&DBKA we run an annual Introduction to Beekeeping course, which includes both theory (over the winter) and practical training (from the spring).

After you have kept your own bees for a season, the next step from our Introduction to Beekeeping course is our Improver’s course, which supports The Basic Assessment.

You can also get some good background information from these following publications:

BBKA Becoming a Beekeeper Webpage

BeeBase – Advice for New Beekeepers

Taster Session

Taster Sessions have been designed to help you decide if beekeeping is for you. The session will last for about two hours and will give you an understanding of the commitment needed in terms of the time, effort, and costs involved in keeping honey bees. It will also give you a chance to look inside a live colony of bees, which you may not have experienced before.

The cost of the session is £25.00. We will provide bee suits. Please email our Training Manager if you would like to attend this session. At the Taster Session, you can register your interest for the Introduction to Beekeeping course.