Wanstead has long been a hive of urban wildlife, and its own apiary – situated near Warren Road – has been buzzing with activity this summer. Wansteadium reader @MissisBeekeeper freely admits that it’s usually MrBeekeeper who is closest to the bees, but here she willingly shares the different stages she and her family have gone through in the past week as they harvest their bees’ honey.
To the beekeepers of Wanstead, and on behalf of all the people of Wanstead (especially Ron and his fellow gardeners) we salute you and your bees.
@MissisBeekeeper writes: “Hive and beekeeper, which currently lives in the Epping Forest beekeepers’ Wanstead apiary, owned by Mark Stephens.”
“The first step in obtaining Wanstead honey is uncapping the little sealed cells where the honey is.”
“This is what the frame looks like after uncapping – you can see the honey now.”
“The frame is put inside the extractor – which works by spinning it round very fast.”
“The frame is now empty of honey.”
“This is the honey dripping into the settling tank, where it rests prior to being put into jars.”
“And the honey going into the jar. We would ideally like to have a hive at our home near the Nightingale but will wait until next spring for that. Now the greatest challenge will be to print labels from our new printer!”
Where can we get some?
Excellent story, bet that honey comes to a sticky end!
Is the honey available to purchase anywhere locally?