Who says you can’t live The Good Life in a sprawling urban metropolis? From Selfridges rooftop to wild corners of the capital, there are hives a-plenty in the city. Here’s the buzz about London’s best honey…
Lead image courtesy of The London Bee Company
1 The London Honey Company
The London Honey Company harvests honey from across Britain, but was founded by Steve Benbow more than 15 years ago when he decided London life wouldn’t hold him back from his desire to keep bees. He still offers a pure London honey – a lively, complex, honey with citrus notes harvested from the diverse flora of the capital’s trees, parks and gardens straight from the company’s own beehives on rooftops and wild urban corners in the capital.
thelondonhoneycompany.co.uk
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2 The London Bee Company
Not to be confused with the above, The London Bee Company believes healthy bees make a healthy planet, so they are doing their bit to combat declining honeybee populations. Their honey is unheated and un-blended, and you can choose from varieties such as Kensington Honey, Strawberry Hill Honey and White City Honey – harvested between May and August from hives located around London in places like Pimlico, White City, Westminster, Paddington, Kensington, Richmond and Twickenham – as well as a Summer Honey and British Honey.
thelondonbee.com
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3 Harrods London Honey
Harrods is into both provenance and in-house production, so it’s no surprise that it creates its own honey. London Honey, sourced from hives located all around the city, from rooftops to public parks, is fragrant and floral, showcasing the capital’s diverse bouquet. The high-end department store also sells a British honey gift set with three honeys sourced from the British Isles in locations ranging from the Cotswolds to Lincolnshire.
harrods.com
4 Bermondsey Street Bees
Founded in 2007 by Dale Gibson and Sarah Wyndham Lewis, Bermondsey Street Bees is a sustainable beekeeping practice with plenty of Great Taste Awards under its belt. Their Custom House London Raw Honey is a complex honey with citrus and herbaceous layers reflecting varied forage sources from re-wilded former industrial land in east London to the margins of Hackney Marshes. There’s also a The Royal Albert Dock London Raw Honey, with wild forage sources beyond the Thames Barrier that honeybees will always seek in preference to cultivated garden flowers.
bermondseystreetbees.co.uk
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5 Urban Bees
Urban Bees, started by Brian McCallum and Alison Benjamin with a single hive in their west London garden, produces a Regent’s Park Honey foraged from the abundance of trees and flowers in the beautiful park. The thriving social enterprise offers training courses for aspiring bee keepers and works in partnership with companies like the Co-op to promote bee-friendly spaces throughout London. They also have a bee map to help you locate ‘wannabees’ who want to offer their land and for people who want to learn the art of beekeeping.
urbanbees.co.uk
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