Published: 23 July 2026
From Cumbria’s Landscape to Your Table
Tucked away in a remote spot near Allithwaite Village just down the road from Holker Hall & Gardens, Beckside Honey has grown into a thriving local business rooted in South Cumbria’s landscape and powered by thousands upon thousands of bees.
With 13 hives across Beckside, Penny Hall, Greenodd, Cartmel, Coniston and Kirby Moor, Beckside Honey is a small business in feel, but impressive in scale. Each hive contains around 60,000 bees, with a queen capable of laying up to 1,000 eggs a day. From the east shore of Coniston to the heather of Kirby Moor, these bees forage across a rich mix of landscapes that give the honey its character.
Inside the Hive
What makes Beckside Honey especially fascinating is not just the honey itself, but the extraordinary world of the bees behind it. Bees are highly organised, deeply social creatures, working together with remarkable precision. Worker bees live for around six weeks, spending the first half of their lives caring for eggs and larvae inside the hive, before heading out to forage.
One of the most fascinating behaviours is the famous waggle dance. When a bee finds a good nectar source, it returns to the hive and performs a dance that helps guide the other bees to it. It is an extraordinary reminder that a hive is not just a collection of insects, but a coordinated community.
The queen’s role is just as remarkable. She mates only once, flying out to mate with 8 to 10 drones, and then returns to the hive with enough stored genetics for the rest of her life. If the colony becomes too crowded, the bees prepare to swarm, even slimming the queen down so she can fly off with part of the colony to establish a new home.
The Craft Behind Every Jar
This natural skill is matched by the bees’ craft. Honey production is a highly skilled process within the hive and honeycomb itself is especially labour-intensive: it takes bees eight times more energy to build comb than to produce honey. That makes every jar and every section of comb a reflection of an enormous amount of work.
Beckside Honey keeps processing simple: the honey is spun, filtered and jarred, with no heat treatment. This helps retain the pollen and enzymes naturally present in raw honey. Crystallisation is entirely natural too and simply shows the honey returning to its natural form.
More Than Just Honey
Local honey has long been associated with helping to ease hayfever symptoms, making it a popular choice during the spring and summer months. Because it contains small amounts of pollen collected by bees from flowers in the local area, some people believe that eating a little local honey regularly may help the body build up a tolerance to the pollen that triggers seasonal allergies. While scientific evidence is still mixed and it isn’t a medically proven treatment, many hayfever sufferers continue to swear by it as a natural remedy.
Beyond its connection to hayfever, honey has been treasured for centuries for its natural qualities. Often associated with soothing, nourishing and healing properties, it is also widely used in skincare and wellness routines. Whether drizzled over breakfast, stirred into a warm drink or enjoyed straight from the spoon, local honey remains a much-loved pantry staple with a rich heritage and plenty of natural appeal.
For those wanting to enjoy a taste of this local craft for themselves, Beckside Honey is available to buy in the Holker Hall & Gardens Gift Shop.