Kent's honey reflects its orchards, fruit farms and woodland. Bramble Farm Bees near Maidstone describes its forage as wildflowers, orchard blossom and hedgerows; David and Celia Rudland produce two honeys from bees kept on strawberry and raspberry farms; and the Broadwater Forest honey sold by Botanica Health in Tunbridge Wells comes from an apiary beside Broadwater Warren nature reserve, where the bees work hawthorn, bramble, sweet chestnut and heather.
Kent Beekeepers Association does most of its work through local branches and has long been involved with the Kent County Show at Detling, where the Mid Kent branch exhibits every year; Mid Kent also holds its own honey show. On the north coast, Whitstable & Herne Bay Beekeepers lists members with honey for sale between Whitstable, Faversham, Herne Bay and Canterbury.
Most honey on this page is sold direct: Bray's Bees and Bramble Farm Bees at farmers' markets and online, Hayes Honey through its own shop, and Home Grown Honey at Matfield for collection by prior arrangement.
Apple, pear and cherry orchards across the Medway valley and the mid-Kent fruit belt give a spring blossom flow, and colonies are still moved in for pollination. The Weald's sweet chestnut coppice flowers in July and produces the dark, tannic honey that Kent is quietly known for among people who buy honey seriously. On the North Downs, chalk grassland brings clover, trefoil and marjoram, and the escarpment woods add lime and beech. Borage and oilseed rape appear on the arable land towards Thanet and the Isle of Sheppey. Along the coast, from Whitstable round to Sandwich, dune and marsh flora extend the range further.
Delicate and pale from the orchard spring crop; dark, tannic and long-finishing where sweet chestnut dominates in July.
Flowering times are typical and can shift by two to three weeks with the weather, season and altitude.
Canterbury, Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells, Ashford, Whitstable, Sittingbourne, Faversham, Sevenoaks
From beekeepers working the Weald — roughly the belt between Tunbridge Wells, Cranbrook and Ashford. Chestnut flowers in July and the honey is usually available from August. It is dark, strong and slightly bitter, and it is not to everyone's taste, so try a small jar first.
Often, yes. Kent's mild climate and early orchard blossom mean the first honey can be ready by late May, weeks ahead of northern counties. If you want spring honey rather than the main summer crop, Kent producers are among the first in the country to have it.
Use the listing details to choose how to buy, then contact the producer before travelling.
The directory does not track live stock or harvest dates. Availability, collection, delivery, prices and seasonal varieties can change, so ask the producer to confirm what is currently available.
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