Conwy Beekeepers – Gwenynwyr Conwy

Conwy Feast

The 9th Conwy Feast was another great success for Conwy town, with the streets thronged with visitors until late on Saturday evening, and still busy on the wet Sunday. Conwy BKA shared the Farming for Food tent with various livestock: cattle, sheep, geese, small pigs, chickens and a very large horse. We made contact with over 20 would-be beekeepers. Many thanks to everybody who supported the event.

Friday November 30th—Candlemaking Workshop

Henfaes Research Centre, Abergwyngregyn 10am until 3.30pm. Open to all.
Learn how to make a variety of beeswax candles for yourself or as Christmas presents for friends and family. Led by Paul and Pauline Aslin, Dolgellau. See their interesting website www.erwgoed.co.uk/.

Learn how to

• prepare beeswax, including reclaiming clean wax from old brood combs;
• make dipped, rolled and moulded candles;
• make lip balm.

£45 per person including a tasty lunch, and one of each type of candle and some lip balm, all made by you, to take home. Limited to 16 people.

Organized by National Beekeeping Centre Wales.

To book your place and pay by card, please phone the Visitor Centre (open every day except Mondays) on 01492 651106 or call in at Furnace Farm.

Best wishes.
Peter McFadden

Tuesday 30th October—Association Honey Show

Craig y Don Community Centre
We have devised a completely new format for this year’s Honey Show, with judging by the members. See the honey show schedule for details and times.

Please do support the Show.

Good luck!

Hallo beekeepers,

Yesterday’s Conwy Honey Fair was another great success. Nearly 80 stalls, including about 18 honey sellers, lovely weather and crowds of visitors. Thanks to everybody who supported the Fair. Well done to Alan Morley, who collected £425 towards Bees for Development from stallholders and visitors. Add that to £368 collected at the Seed Fair, and we’ve raised £793 so far this year, with the Conwy Feast still to come.

The Henfaes beekeeping evening course started this week, with a full class of about 40 trainees.

Sunday 16th September—Harvest Festival

Moelyci Environmental Centre from 10.30am. Admission £3.
See www.moelyci.org

Wednesday 19th September—National Beekeeping Centre Wales drop-in session

Furnace Farm from 1pm.
Call in at the Visitor Centre, and see what is on offer from NBCW, and how you can be part of it. All welcome. See www.beeswales.co.uk.

Our summer season of apiary meetings at Tal y Cafn ended yesterday.  Many thanks to Apiary Manager Chris Clarke and the team of instructors. Thank you to everybody who attended the sessions, all of them keen to become better beekeepers.

The Henfaes basic beekeeping evening course, which is filling up quickly, starts on Tuesday 11th September. See www.beeswales.co.uk to book a place.

Thursday 13th September—Conwy Honey Fair

Thirteen honey stalls booked so far, more are welcome.  Over 50 stalls booked altogether.  See our stallholder page if you are a producer or our visitor page if you would like to visit.

AARGH…I’ve been stung! It got me on the…

Thursday 25th September—Stings and anaphylaxis

A talk by Dr. Steve Kelly at Craig y Don Community Centre.

Enjoy your beekeeping.
Peter McFadden

Skep making workshop

Saturday’s Skep making Workshop at Capel Curig was greatly oversubscribed. Over 50 people applied for the 15 places. We learned about the different types of skeps and the best straw to use, and we spent the day quietly engrossed in converting a large pile of straw into various useful skeps.

Many thanks to Martin Buckle who led the workshop, and to the Snowdonia Society Ty Hyll Honeybee Initiative, which works with the National Beekeeping Centre Wales to promote honeybees and beekeeping. The Skep Workshop was generously funded by the Countryside Council for Wales. Click here and scroll right down to see more pictures of the Skep Workshop. We hope to organize another skep workshop next year.

Saturday 1st September—Apiary meeting

Tal y Cafn at 2.30pm
Our last meeting of the summer. Treating the bees with Apiguard. Contact Chris Clarke for supplies of Apiguard.

Queens and nucs

Mated queens and end of season nucs for sale Please email Peter McFadden for contact details.

More apiary sessions

Apiary sessions at Furnace Farm, Tal y Cafn will run regularly through September, weather permitting. See the Bees Wales Facebook page. More volunteers are wanted at NBCW, in the Visitor Centre or as Apiary Makers. Contact lucy@beeswales.co.uk or just call in at Furnace Farm.

National Beekeeping Centre for Wales evening classes for beginners start on 11th September 2012 at Henfaes Abergwyngregyn. See this Beekeeping for Beginners poster for more details.

Hallo bee people,

Saturday 18th August—Skep making workshop

Capel Curig Community Centre

Martin Buckle in his copy of a beekeeper’s clothing from a Breughel painting.

A full-day event led by Martin Buckle and funded by Countryside Council for Wales, as part of Snowdonia Society Ty Hyll honeybee initiative. Take home your own skep. No charge for the workshop, small charge for optional lunch.

Note: Places are limited, and will fill up quickly. Please contact David Archer to book your place and lunch. Ty Hyll honeybee centre and Pot Mel tearoom near Capel Curig are open Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 5pm.

See websites:

• Capel Curig Community Centre
• Snowdonia Society

Wednesday 25th July—Farmers’ Market

Conwy RSPB 9am to 1pm.

Saturday 28th July—Car Boot Sale

Tal y Bont Playing Field, Conwy Valley starts at 1pm. The best in the Conwy Valley.

Saturday 4th August—Apiary meeting

Tal y Cafn Apiguard available, contact Chris to place your order.

Beekeeping for beginners Winter course starts at Henfaes on 11th September, booking now. See www.beeswales.co.uk for details and booking form.

Enjoy the sunshine.
Peter McFadden

Hallo beekeepers,

Prince of Wales at Bodnant Welsh Food

A great day at the opening of Bodnant Welsh Food and the National Beekeeping Centre Wales Visitor Centre at Furnace Farm near Tal y Cafn.

You really must visit Furnace Farm. It’s a superb conversion of near-derelict 18th century farm buildings. It has a reasonably-priced farm shop, large tea room, restaurant, cookery school, butchery, and a dairy making ice cream and cheese, using milk from cows less than a mile away.

National Beekeeping Centre for Wales – Exhibition

The Beekeeping Visitor Centre occupies one corner of the courtyard. The new hive site down in Apiary Lane (See separate email for pics) has a video link from a hive entrance to a large screen in the beekeeping centre. You can clearly see the bees bringing in different colour pollen, with no risk of getting stung. Hopefully, you’ll be able to see bees fanning the entrance one sunny day. A great educational tool.

National Beekeeping Centre for Wales – Apiary

Apiary visits for the public coming soon. The surrounding site will be planted up with bee-friendly plants.

Furnace Farm is open seven days, free entry. See www.bodnant-welshfood.co.uk.

Enjoy your visit!

Peter McFadden

Saturday 7th July—Apiary meeting

Tal y Cafn at 2.30pmPreparing for the main honey flow, and mid/late summer inspections.

Saturday 8th July—Moelyci open day

Moelyci Farm, Tregarth, from midday.

Tuesday 10th July—National Beekeeping Centre Wales opens

Furnace Farm, Bodnant
Bodnant Welsh Food / National Beekeeping Centre Wales visitor centre opens to the public, with over 40 new jobs straight away. See Bodnant Welsh Food Centre and National Beekeeping Centre for Wales.

Wednesday 11th July—Farmers’ Market

Conwy Quay, 9am to 1pm

Barry Griffiths took these pictures of yesterday’s very useful Disease Recognition Workshop at Henfaes. Many thanks to RBI Frank Gellatly, and SBI’s Jonathan Garratt and Peter Haywood.

Wednesday 13th June—Farmers’ Market

Conwy Quay, 9am to 2pm.

Saturday 16th June–Beekeeping Taster Day

Rowen and Tal y Cafn. A few spaces still available. See here for details

Saturday 7th July—Apiary meeting

Tal y Cafn at 2.30pm. Open to all members, not just new beekeepers. New hives, six colonies, small groups with three or four instructors, a hands-on experience for all.

Basic Beekeeping for Beginners winter evening course

Henfaes. Season seven starts in September, now booking. Highly recommended. See www.beeswales.co.uk.

Out-Apiary site available

We’ve been offered space for beehives in a field between Betws y Coed and Capel Garmon, 650 ft. ASL, drive-in access to field, good shelter, gentle slope, no public rights of way, just a few sheep in the field. Please contact the secretary if you are interested in using this site.

Much rain

I recorded 42mm of rain near Rowen on Friday, and member Jenny Buels recorded 84mm at Nant Gwynant, the highest one-day rainfall there in eleven years. Can you beat these figures?

Peter McFadden