Local honey in Yorkshire
From heather on the moors to spring blossom in the Vale of York, Yorkshire produces some of the most varied honey in the country. Find a local beekeeper, and find out what makes their honey taste of where it's from.
One county, very different honeys
Yorkshire is big enough that honey from one end tastes nothing like honey from the other. What the bees can reach decides what ends up in the jar, so it's worth knowing roughly where your beekeeper's hives are.
The moors
The North York Moors, the Dales and the high Pennine moors turn purple with ling heather in August. Beekeepers take their hives up for the flowering, and the result is dark, strong heather honey that Yorkshire is known for.
Farmland and the Wolds
Across the Vale of York, the Wolds and Holderness, spring oilseed rape gives an early crop that sets quickly into smooth, pale honey. Field beans, clover and hedgerows follow on into summer.
Towns and cities
Urban bees in Leeds, Sheffield, York and Hull do surprisingly well. Parks, gardens, allotments and street trees, especially lime in early summer, give city honey a lovely mixed flavour.
River valleys
Along rivers like the Don, Calder and Aire, Himalayan balsam flowers from midsummer into autumn. It's an invasive plant, but bees love it, and it gives a late, pale, gentle honey.
Heather honey
Ling heather honey is unlike any other. It's thick and jelly-like, with a strong, slightly smoky taste and a deep amber colour. It won't spin out of the comb like ordinary honey, so it has to be pressed, or sold as cut comb.
Getting it is hard work. Hives are carried up onto the moors in late July or August, left for a few weeks, and brought back down again. A wet or windy August can mean almost no crop at all, which is why heather honey costs more and often sells out well before Christmas.
The Yorkshire honey year
Most local beekeepers take honey off a couple of times a season, so what you can buy changes as the year goes on.
Spring honey
Oilseed rape, fruit blossom, sycamore and hawthorn. Often sold soft set, as it crystallises quickly.
Summer honey
Clover, bramble, lime and garden flowers. Usually runny, golden and the one most people picture.
Heather
The moorland crop, for beekeepers who take their bees up. Small, precious and weather-dependent.
Late season
Balsam in the valleys, then ivy. Most ivy is left for the bees to see them through winter.
My own hives are near Barnsley, on the edge of the Pennines, and I can tell a spring jar from a summer one with my eyes shut. That's what I love about Yorkshire honey. It changes with the landscape and the weather, and no two years are ever quite the same.
If you can, ask your beekeeper where their bees are and what was flowering. Most of us will happily talk your ear off about it.
Richard Senior, Staincross Apiaries and Local Honey UKYorkshire beekeepers on Local Honey UK
Every beekeeper here has made the Local Honey Promise. Get in touch with them before you travel, as local honey often sells out.
Staincross Apiaries
- https://staincross-apiaries.co.uk/shop/?utm_source=localhoney.uk
- Coniston Avenue, Cats Whiskers Boarding Cattery, Staincross, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, S75 5BL, United Kingdom
- 01226 105018
- WhatsApp Link : https://staincross-apiaries.co.uk/whatsapplink
Mr P’s Bees
- Croft Drive, Mapplewell, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, S75 6AN, United Kingdom
- 07881298101
Overton Honey Company
- Horbury, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, WF4 6LP, United Kingdom
Moorland heather
Summer clover
Spring blossom
Getting the real thing in Yorkshire
The best local honey rarely makes it into supermarkets. You'll find it at farmers' markets, farm shops, honesty boxes at the end of a lane, and at local shows, where beekeepers' associations often run a honey stall.
Local honey in Yorkshire: common questions
Where can I buy local honey in Yorkshire?
Buying straight from a beekeeper is the best way to know where your honey comes from. As well as the listings above, try farmers' markets, farm shops, honesty boxes and local shows.
When is heather honey available?
Heather flowers in August, so it's usually jarred from September. The crop is small and depends on the weather, so it often sells out before Christmas.
Why is heather honey more expensive?
Hives have to be moved to the moors and back, the honey has to be pressed rather than spun, and a poor August can mean no crop at all. More work, far less honey.
Does local honey help with hay fever?
Plenty of people swear by it, but there isn't strong evidence that it works. Most hay fever is caused by wind-blown grass and tree pollen, not the flowers bees visit. Speak to a pharmacist or GP about hay fever, and buy honey because it's delicious.
Keep bees in Yorkshire? Get listed
We're building the best place to find genuine Yorkshire honey, and we'd love you to be part of it. Listing is free. All we ask is that you make the Local Honey Promise.