Brightwell Bees

Honey, candles and other products from our hives in Oxfordshire and Berkshire

Why do bees make honey?

Unlike other species of bee, the honeybee overwinters as a large colony with numbers of between 5,000 and 10,000. They don’t hibernate, and in cold weather they will huddle together to keep each other warm. On mild winter days they will fly in search of winter flowers, as well as bringing water back to the hive to dilute the stored honey so that it can be fed to baby larvae; amazingly, the queen will continue to lay eggs throughout most of the winter months.

A honeybee colony needs a huge amount of honey to survive winter – typically 20 kg – around 50 jars of honey!

As beekeepers we have to ensure that our bees always have sufficient stores to last them through the winter and early spring until the main flush of spring blossom can replenish the stores in the hive.

Read about our honey and other products.

Honey: why Set or runny honey? Honey Honey: how

Where to buy...

Find out where to buy all our products from our hives in Oxfordshire and West Berkshire here.