About Bickleigh Honey
Peggy & Paul
We are Peggy & Paul, we are lucky to live in the beautiful village of Bickleigh, with Loxton (pictured) and Burtie our cat (not pictured). Also not pictured are our amazing bees and 50 chickens! We adore the countryside, walking, gardening and looking after our animals. Peggy will insist she has 50 chickens forever, although I suspect there may be more!
Bickleigh Honey
Our journey with Bickleigh Honey started simply enough: curiosity for the hobby, two beehives and a genuine fascination with the lives of bees. What began as a humble hobby within the Exe Valley quickly grew into something much deeper—a proper devotion to this amazing craft. Paul uses the same maths as Peggy does for the chickens., there’s a few hives!
we owe it all to our bees
Our Bees
Today, those two colonies have flourished into quite a few apiaries, though our core philosophy remains unchanged. We care for our bees with patience and respect, they have the diverse and rich countryside surrounding Bickleigh to forage ranging from river banks, wild meadows, hedgerows, and woodlands.
Buckfast Bees & Carniolan Bees
We only keep Buckfast and Carniolan Bees
Bred in the tranquil surroundings of Devon’s Buckfast Abbey during the early 20th century by Brother Adam, the Buckfast bee is one of the most successful achievements in selective apiculture. Faced with a devastating epidemic of Isle of Wight disease that wiped out native British populations, Brother Adam embarked on a decades-long quest to develop a resilient, productive, and gentle honeybee. Buckfast bees are renowned for their exceptional calmness on the comb and exceptional honey.
Originating from Slovenia, Carniolan bees are celebrated worldwide for their gentleness and remarkable adaptability to changing climates. Carniolans are phenomenal foragers with a talent for exploiting early spring nectar flows. They excel at overwintering by efficiently conserving food stores and adjusting colony size to match seasonal resources, making them a resilient and productive choice for sustainable apiaries.
Passing on our passion!
We provide Beekeeping Experiences, here in Devon to give you a taste, literally, of beekeeping. We will pass on to you the basics of looking after a colony of bees, giving you hands on experience and of course, enjoying our honey.