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Founder of The Noble Bee; producing award winning, delicious, single origin, raw, New Forest honey & beeswax candles, & beekeeping experience days.

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We had a fantastic season on the heather this year. Did you see how vibrant it was? and the smell that filled the air was incredible. This morning we bought the last few hives back to their permanent apiaries and were almost done with the harvest, so we thought it would be a good moment to reshare this film that we had the pleasure of making with cameraman and short film maker; Matt Dunkinson. @mattdunk This years heather honey is available to purchase exclusively from our online shop. #heatherhoney #honey #rawhoney #naturalhoney #superfood #thenewforest by @thenoblebees

Chloe harvesting the last box of this seasons heather honey. But it’s a precious crop this year, as it was so dry here in The New Forest, that conditions were not conducive to a good crop hence we only have a very small amount to offer. #heatherhoney by @thenoblebees

$We now have a blog section on our website. We will be covering a number of topics over the coming months. One of our first blog posts is about scented candles. We researched some of the most famous candle brands and compared their candles to ours. We were surprised to find that some of the most prestigious brands use the cheapest, least ethical and most polluting wax there is… paraffin wax, compared to our candles which are made from a natural blend of beeswax and coconut wax. (And a fraction of the price) So when you spend £50 or more on a designer candle, you are more often than not simplying paying for a fancy brand and that’s it! Check out our blog post if you want to learn more. #candles #scentedcandles #homefragrance by @thenoblebees$

For the next few days you can find us at Winchester Cathedral for their new ‘WILD’ event which celebrates flowers. The Cathedral has been transformed into a spectacular oasis of flowers and foliage! We’re located in a marquee in the courtyard. @winchestercathedral #flowers by @thenoblebees

May introducing some of our products available here today from our stall at @romseyfoodfairofficial @maynobleeales_music #romseyfoodfair #smallbusiness #honey by @thenoblebees

We’re ready for the Hythe scarecrow Festival. Our scarecrow is called ‘Dog’ thanks to May and Ada for helping to make it. by @thenoblebees

My Niece; May, is currently doing her school work experience with us, hence, she will be running the pop up shop today. Pop in and say hi! #popupshop @maynobleeales_music by @thenoblebees

Friday just passed, was the last beekeeping experience day of the year. It’s always a little sad to end another season, but at least we’ve got next years to look forward to. Our experience days sold out in record time this year. If you want to come along and see what it’s all about, learn all about the magic and mystery of bees, whilst spending a day in a serene woodland setting, visit our website (link in bio) to read all about the days and to book in to next years events. Thank you to everyone who attended one of our beekeeping experience days this year. You were all absolutely lovely and we enjoyed hosting you! #beekeepingexperience #experience #natureexperience by @thenoblebees

History was recently made, here at the home of The Noble Bee; Furzedown Farm, when we hosted our first ever wedding. Sophie and Tom tied the knot and did it with such style and fun. It was a truly special occasion and we were honoured to have been a part of it. If you’re looking for a unique, rustic, characterful, welcoming and homely venue for your wedding, set on our small bee farm, give us a shout. #wedding #weddingvenue by @thenoblebees

If you’re not from the New Forest area, you will almost certainly have seen the news about the heathland fire here this week. It’s a stark reminder of just how incredibly dry the Forest has become, and it’s a similar story across large parts of the Northern Hemisphere, particularly Europe.
We’ve now been in drought conditions for several weeks. The grass is brown, the ground is bone dry and even some of the trees are starting to look like they’re clinging on. The whole countryside is desperate for rain.
Recently, lots of people have been asking us what this means for the bees. During very hot weather, a colony has to put a huge amount of effort into keeping the hive cool. Bees collect water and use it inside the hive, fanning their wings to help regulate the temperature and protect the developing brood.
But there’s another problem that’s perhaps less obvious: flowers need water in order to produce nectar.
We can have beautiful sunshine, thousands of flowers and plenty of bees flying, but when the ground becomes this dry, many plants simply stop producing the quantities of nectar they normally would.
We have quite a few of our hives out on the heathland at the moment, some just a stone’s throw from where the fire was, but we’re expecting a very small crop this year, if any at all.
Farming and beekeeping are always at the mercy of the weather. Some years nature gives abundantly, and others she reminds us that nothing is guaranteed.
Fortunately, we did have a fantastic summer honey harvest, but New Forest heather honey is likely to be in very limited supply this year. Let’s hope for some rain soon, as the main concern now is preventing forest fires. #bees #drought #thenewforest #newforestfire #climatechange by @thenoblebees

We’ve had a very special visitor in our pollinator garden here at the farm over the last few weeks... a Hummingbird Hawk-Moth! Seeing this amazing little creature makes all the effort we put into planting for pollinators feel worthwhile.

It gets its name from its resemblance to a hummingbird, hovering effortlessly from flower to flower as it feeds. Even more amazingly, it can remember which flowers it has visited and return to them later. Unlike most moths, the Hummingbird Hawk-Moth is active during the day.

These fascinating insects migrate from southern Europe and North Africa, and with our warming climate, they’re becoming an increasingly common sight here in the UK.

In this video, its wings appear to be flapping slowly, but in reality they’re beating an astonishing 85 times every second!

Have you ever spotted a Hummingbird Hawk-Moth in your garden? by @thenoblebees

Tomorrow (Sunday) we’ll be trading at one of our favourite events of the year… Trout’n’About in Stockbridge!
Set along the beautiful High Street, it’s always such a lovely day out, with fantastic local stalls, live music, delicious food, and a wonderful atmosphere.

If you’re looking for something to do tomorrow, we’d love to see you there. Come along, say hello, and enjoy everything this charming event has to offer! @tnastockbridge by @thenoblebees

Simon at The Noble Bee.

@thenoblebees