Local Honey in Leicestershire
Find honey in Leicestershire on the map
Leicestershire's beekeepers have been organised since 1882, when the Leicestershire and Rutland Beekeepers Association was founded. It now runs teaching apiaries at Walton, Markfield and Brooksby, and its bee tent tours local summer shows.
Honey here comes from farmland, estates and villages across the county. Temple Bees, based at Measham, keeps around 200 colonies on some 20 sites from Appleby Magna to Cadeby and Prestwold Hall near Loughborough, with separate small-batch honeys from Newtown Linford and Mountsorrel. In the north-east, Peacock Farm at Muston jars honey from its own hives and from local beekeepers' colonies in the Vale of Belvoir, while Pollen Hill Bee Farm at Houghton-on-the-Hill breeds its own local bees for unprocessed wildflower honey.
Many producers are small. Dave's Leicestershire Honey is a hobby beekeeper who sold local producers' honey on Leicestershire's markets for 27 years before keeping bees himself; and Frolesworth Honey sells runny, soft-set and comb honey in the south of the county. Hall Farm Dadlington's Bosworth in Bloom honey is sold mainly to guests staying at the farm, with delivery to others by arrangement.
Explore Leicestershire by town
- Local honey in Ashby-de-la-Zouch
- Local honey in Blackfordby
- Local honey in Dadlington
- Local honey in Frolesworth
- Local honey in Houghton-on-the-Hill
- Local honey in Measham
- Local honey in Muston
Beekeeping landscape and local forage
Charnwood's woods and heathy commons bring sycamore, sweet chestnut, bilberry and bramble, along with scattered heather on the acid ground — a small upland-flavoured crop in a lowland county. Across the rest of the county, mixed farming supplies oilseed rape in spring, field beans in June and hedgerow hawthorn and blackthorn throughout. The National Forest planting programme in the west has added many thousands of young broadleaves over the last thirty years, and as they mature they are steadily improving forage in what was mining and quarrying country. The Soar valley carries willow and balsam, and Leicester itself has substantial parkland lime and a growing number of urban apiaries.
What Leicestershire honey can taste like
Standard mixed blossom across most of the county — medium amber, floral, sets fine. Charnwood apiaries produce a darker, woodier honey.
Seasonal forage calendar
| Month | Typical forage and colony activity |
|---|---|
| January | Nothing. Colonies clustered. |
| February | Hazel, snowdrop, crocus. Willow in the Soar valley. |
| March | Blackthorn. Sallow on the Charnwood commons. |
| April | Oilseed rape. Dandelion, fruit blossom, field maple. |
| May | Hawthorn, sycamore, horse chestnut. Bilberry on the Charnwood heath. |
| June | Field beans and clover. Bramble opens. |
| July | Lime in Leicester and Loughborough. Sweet chestnut in Charnwood. Bramble in full flow. |
| August | Willowherb, late bramble, scattered heather on the acid ground. |
| September | Himalayan balsam along the Soar. Ivy begins. |
| October | Ivy. Winter preparation. |
| November | Negligible. |
| December | No forage. |
Flowering times are typical and can shift by two to three weeks with the weather, season and altitude.
Places to find local honey in Leicestershire
Leicester, Loughborough, Hinckley, Melton Mowbray, Market Harborough, Coalville, Wigston, Ashby-de-la-Zouch
Frequently asked questions
Is there heather honey in Leicestershire?
In very small amounts. Charnwood Forest has patches of acid heath carrying ling and bell heather, but nothing on the scale of the Peak or the Pennines. Any Leicestershire honey with a heather character is likely to be a blend rather than a pure heather crop — worth asking the producer what is actually in it.
What is the National Forest doing for local bees?
Steadily improving forage. Millions of broadleaf trees planted across west Leicestershire since the 1990s are now reaching flowering maturity, adding sycamore, lime, willow and cherry to land that was previously quarry and colliery ground. Apiaries in that area have measurably more to work with than they did a generation ago.
Buying local honey in Leicestershire
Use the listing details to choose how to buy, then contact the seller before travelling.
- 8 active directory listings currently appear for Leicestershire.
- 5 listings are marked as raw honey.
- 2 listings report an outlet.
- 4 listings have a verified webshop link.
- 6 listings also note other beekeeping products.
The directory does not track live stock or harvest dates. Availability, collection, delivery, prices and seasonal varieties can change, so ask the seller to confirm what is currently available.
Honey producers and beekeepers
Daves Leicestershire Honey
Hobby beekeeper with hives at Foston and Wibtoft, selling local Leicestershire honey.
Frolesworth Honey
Frolesworth, Leicestershire
Small honey producer based in Frolesworth, South Leicestershire, caring for honeybees.
Hall Farm Dadlington - Bosworth in Bloom Honey
Dadlington, Leicestershire
Locally produced Leicestershire honey from beehives around neighbouring villages, sold to farm guests.
Peacock Farm Muston
Muston, Leicestershire
Vale of Belvoir farm honey from on-site hives and local beekeeping colonies.
Pollen Hill Bee Farm
Houghton-on-the-Hill, Leicestershire
Small family-run Leicestershire bee farm producing unprocessed wildflower honey from locally bred bees.
Temple Bees
Measham, Leicestershire
Great Taste award-winning honey from around 200 colonies across North West Leicestershire, jarred in Measham and sold in nearly 40 local shops.
The Bee Farmer
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire
The Bee Farmer produces local honey and offers beekeeping services in Leicestershire.
Tyrrell's Honey
Blackfordby, Leicestershire
Small family business producing raw British wildflower honey and selling overwintered nucleus bee colonies.