Surrey is more wooded than any other English county, and for bees that matters more than its reputation as commuter country suggests. Between the acid heaths of the west, the chalk of the North Downs and the sweet chestnut coppice of the Weald, colonies here have access to forage that is genuinely unusual.
Sweet chestnut is the county's distinguishing crop. Coppiced across the Weald and the greensand, it flowers in early July and yields a dark, strongly flavoured honey with a faint bitterness that people either seek out or avoid entirely. The western heaths — Chobham, Thursley, Frensham — carry bell heather and ling, and the rhododendron that colonises them adds an early-June flow in places. On the chalk of the North Downs, colonies work clover and downland wildflowers. Surrey's suburbs are also serious bee country: mature garden planting, street lime and long flowering seasons in Guildford, Woking and the Epsom and Reigate belt mean urban apiaries here often outproduce rural ones.
Two extremes in one county — pale, mild garden and clover honey from the suburbs, and dark, tannic chestnut honey from the Wealden woods.
Flowering times are typical and can shift by two to three weeks with the weather, season and altitude.
Guildford, Woking, Farnham, Epsom, Reigate, Dorking, Godalming, Camberley
Dark amber to near-black, with a strong, slightly bitter, almost tannic finish and a long aftertaste. It is nothing like a supermarket blossom honey. Cooks tend to like it with cheese rather than on toast. Ask Wealden producers around Cranleigh, Dorking and Godalming in late July.
Frequently better. Suburban Surrey has continuous flowering from February to October across thousands of gardens, plus street lime in July, whereas farmland can go empty between crops. Urban colonies here are often stronger and the honey more varied in flavour.
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