Before my visit to Oor Bees founders Lorraine Johnson and Phil Collett in Annan, I enjoy a few days with my friend Jackie Elliott with whom I share lots of interests including information- sharing. Jackie is founder of www.scientificbeekeeping.co.uk and my go-to person when it comes to making sense of complicated scientific papers.
Jackie lives with her husband John in a lovely part of Ayrshire not far from Ayr in a cottage set deeply in the lush green countryside which reminds me of my Kintyre childhood homeland. Next door is a racing stable and I hear hooves on the tarmac outside the house several times a day as the most magnificent animals trot out for training. Jackie takes me to an open day at the stables and I get to watch close up as around 20 horses parade in the yard for us. We hear about their life histories and hopes for the future from their owner and trainer. Jackie explains to me that the horses with the deep chests are bred for jump racing and I can now tell the difference between them and the more streamlined flat racers. Later we watch 2 horses being taken over jumps in the field. I buy 2 strips of raffle tickets as this event is a fund-raiser for local charities and am very excited when Jackie messages me to say that I’ve won days out at the Kelso and Musselburgh races.
Apart from the lovely long walks along the road, where we see wonderfully clear views of Arran, and John’s Cordon Bleu-style cooking, the highlight of my visit is traveling with Jackie to the Rhinns of Galloway to visit Margaret Anne Adams author of Pollen Grains & Honeydew. Like Jackie, Margaret lives deep in rich quiet dairying country, but in southwest Galloway in a roadside cottage with a couple of acres of land. Her husband is also called John and has been beekeeping for a very long time. We are treated to lunch in nearby Portpatrick which looks over to Northern Ireland and is bathed in warm autumn sunshine bright enough for us to be dazzled by the coruscating waves.
Rhinns means a point or promontory and we are on a hammer head peninsula stretching 25 miles from north to south. The most southerly tip is called the Mull of Galloway and is the southernmost point of Scotland.
Margaret shows us around her garden which is very similar to Jackie’s with strategically planted trees for bees and honey bee colonies spread far apart to reduce the risks of drifting robbing and disease spread. Jackie and I are intrigued by Margaret’s laptop microscope that allows her to check if the anthers of plants have dehised so that she can make a pollen slide. I am overwhelmed by Margaret’s generosity as she presents me with a slide warmer designed by one of her sons. The postie arrives with a parcel of honey samples and Margaret tells us that she still receives regular requests from beekeepers asking her to test their honey for pollen that gives them knowledge of where their bees have been foraging. It is a tremendous amount of intricate work to be doing out of generosity and I’m appalled to learn that some beekeepers forget to thank Margaret.
Jackie’s apiary.
Back to Jackie’s apiary and I learn that she has converted all her hives to polystyrene which makes lifting much easier for her. Given that she manages 11 colonies and that there are spread over 2 acres this makes good sense. Some of her spare equipment is housed in a massive garage and I’m slightly envious as I had to vacate “my” part of our garage to make way for the red Corvette recently.
I like the apiary very much and we explore the vegetable garden and poly tunnel that produces lots of delicious home- grown food. There’s no oil seed rape in the area so the spring honey remains runny for a very long time and is perhaps one of the most delicious that I’ve tasted.
South to Annan.
Jackie drops me off at Auchinleck railway station and I make my way south to Annan where Lorraine meets me and we motor a few miles to the home she shares with Phil in Eastriggs. It’s more than a couple of years since we last met up and we talk bees till bedtime.
Oor Bees.
Next day it rains in the morning but the afternoon is clear, bright, sunny, and warm at 17 degrees C. It continues like this for my whole visit so we take advantage of it though Lorraine can’t join Phil and me for much of the time due to her full-time work with SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) and Scottish Government as Scotland’s Beekeeping Advisor.
Storage Space.
Sandstone and shelter.
I’m impressed by the old graveyard apiary which is sheltered by ivy covered walls and trees, and by enormous red sandstone head stones. Phil tells me about the local sandstone quarry that once shipped stone all over the world. I was reminded of Glasgow’s warm red sandstone buildings which are in stark contrast to the cold grey granite of the north east where I now live. The large headstones mark the graves of a hard-working farming community. I note the ivy in full flower and alive with insects unlike the tightly budded ivy at home which is at least 2 weeks behind.
We visit another quiet unobtrusive apiary at the edge of a large sawmill. It’s a very secure site though a bit boggy as evidenced by the prodigious rushes (rashes), Juncus species growing here. Phil notices more chalkbrood here than in their other apiaries but the colonies thrive never-the-less.
Briefly, we walk into the woodlands on Caerlaverock estate to a clearing where 8 colonies have grown up from nucs made up earlier in the year. We return to inspect these another day but I’m taking it all in and note Phil’s management strategy for running up to 64 colonies. He keeps a maximum of 8 colonies in each apiary spread across the county, but with 2 apiaries situated close to each other and just over the 3- mile mark. This means he can comfortably inspect 2 apiaries at a time and transfer frames of eggs between them, if need be, or unite colonies easily. Phil is mindful of having enough forage available and not overstocking. Also, he can keep colonies far enough apart to reduce drifting, robbing and disease spread.
Caerlaverock Wetlands Centre.
Lorraine joins us for a visit to the Caerlaverock Wetland Centre which I’d been wanting to see for years. We were too early to see migratory geese in their thousands but I enjoyed watching Canada geese and greylags that have made the marshes their home and have never flown back north for the breeding seasons. https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/caerlaverock/
I’ve never seen such enormous brambles or sloe berries before, and patches of red hawthorn berries brighten hedges as we walk to the Avenue tower. From the tower we look down on a marshy area where dragonflies of all colours and sizes flit backwards and forwards hawking for smaller insect prey. The soft late afternoon sunshine makes the grass look greener and catches dragonfly wings so that the glittering scene is almost primordial and quite mesmerising.
We view the landscape from the Farmhouse tower looking over the River Nith to Criffle which is the highest hill for some distance. Beyond and hidden from view across the Solway Firth is Cumbria. I notice a flock of lapwings flying low to the ground.They are my favourite birds with their unmistakable squeaking cry as they arrive inland to nest in springtime. Phil explains about the tidal bore and how seawater races up the river at high tide but we miss the surfer who that very afternoon rides several miles up-river on a fast wave.
Phil’s philosophy.
I like Phil’s philosophy and admire him for putting the welfare of his bees before obtaining tonnes of honey. He reckons that he can manage to look after around 64 colonies well and without compromising the bees. However, he also looks after himself and Lorraine and wants a balanced life with time off from their work. “It’s important to look after ourselves” Phil says.
I’m still left puzzling how he does manage to find time to relax though as he is the mainstay of his local beekeeping association with key roles of secretary and apiary manager. He also finds the time to squeeze in training in areas such as Engaging and Encouraging Volunteers through an organisation called the Third Sector. https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/ He recognises the need to encourage new committee members to come in with new ideas. Phil is aware of the old adage, “beekeepers don’t die of natural causes; they get clubbed to death”!
Association apiary.
Interestingly, I learn that the association apiary housing 12 colonies produced 600 lbs honey, almost double the usual amount of honey, during a lock-down year when it was not used as a training apiary and handled by lots of new beekeepers. Beekeepers who generously open their hives for training can expect it to be hard on the bees. I’m reminded why I’m striving to support my local association as it moves forward to become a charity, apply for funding, and set up an apiary.
Preparing for winter.
Phil and I check on the Caerlaverock apiary to remove clearer boards and supers, check on mated queens, and apply varroa treatments. Phil has recently had covid and is behind in his work but the warm weather is in his favour. He uses rhombus clearer boards which he prefers to Porter bee escapes but he explains only to leave them on for a few days otherwise the bees find their way back up. One year after leaving the board on a week, Phil discovered the bees had cleared the super and stored honey downstairs.
The key thing I learn here is the importance of apiary hygiene to Phil. Mind you he wouldn’t get away with sloppiness being in partenership with Lorraine! He carries his buckets for brace comb, and cleaning liquid (soda crystals and water (1 kg/5 litre water) and a dash of washing up liquid) for gloved- hands and hive tools through the bracken lined path to the colonies. One of the other things I note for my own practice is Phil’s attention to fire risks. He sprays the smoker with cold water and tips the contents on the ground waiting till the flames have died down and all the material has been burned then he sprays the ground with water and makes sure that the smoker is empty and cold before loading it into his van.
We make our way back towards the castle and I get a couple of shots before we head into the tourist shop where Phil arranges a new honey outlet. https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/caerlaverock-castle/
I’m really grateful to all my friends who made this trip possible through hosting me and giving me lifts to and from railway stations. I include Tricia O’Dywer from Cork, Ireland, who cut short her Hadrian’s Wall walking expedition by a day to come up from Cumbria to catch up with me.
Thank you everyone.
Thank you, Ann, for this marvelous peek at beekeeping in southern Scotland. The photos are fascinating and fun to study. Nice to see the widespread use of polyhives… good, cozy homes for the bees! –Tom
And thank you,Tom, for commenting and for giving poly hives some good press!!