Let's Hear It For The 🐝s!

As soon as I hear a gentle buzz in the spring, I sigh with relief. The bees! They're back. And it is often hearing before seeing. Because there'll be busy away, deep in some bush or other. Then when you begin to look, and become attuned, you hear more and see more.

The whole pollination process is magical and mystical in itself, but then when you realise that around three-quarters of the world's crops rely on pollinators like bees, you realise it's not just beautiful but vital.

World Bee Day is on 20 May because this coincides with the birthday of Anton Jansa, the Slovenian beekeeping pioneer, who, according to the Food & Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, "praised the bees for their ability to work so hard, while needing so little attention". So true.

Most of the world's pollinators are wild, and this includes 20,000 species of bees, says the FAO. Do check out the brilliant FAO page and the wonderful video there. 

To celebrate World Bee Day yesterday at the Tasting Room we had a bee-friendly Flight! This proved such fun, we've made it a trio in our webshop - Three For The Bees, at the special price of £40 rather than £41.50.

This leads with Old Man & The Bee 2020, the cider crafted from the start from the best fruit from our Home Orchard, and named in honour of the orchard's founder, Mark Murray, and the humble bee. Added to this is Table Cider, all the trees that produce our year-round bestseller depend on the bees, and Still Life With Quince, with its honeyed tones.

Take The Tour

Come and see us whenever you want to chat bees. Take a seat in the Cider Garden and gaze over the orchard. From here on until August, we won't be mowing the Cider Garden Orchard so that the wildflowers can thrive.

If you'd like to get closer, why not join our Cider Tour next weekend, Sunday 28 May? We will be heading into the Farm's main orchards, and you can catch the blossom as it billows up the hill. Tickets are limited, and available via our website.

For those in Herefordshire wanting to delve that little bit further, do check out Hey Honey! in Hereford. Not only the bestest selection of bee-friendly things, but also new beekeeping experiences, plus beehive installation and management - so you could do your bit!

Other great sites to visit are the BBC Newsround page and the British Beekeepers Association.

In the meantime, let's hear it for the bees!