County Antrim runs from the Belfast streets to the basalt plateau and the Glens, and its beekeeping covers the same range. It is also some of the most productive small-scale honey country in Ireland, helped by hedgerows that were never grubbed out to the extent they were in England.
The hedgerow is central here: hawthorn, blackthorn, willow and bramble line small fields across the county and give colonies a long, continuous season rather than a few enormous crops. Clover-rich grazing pasture — the mainstay of Antrim farming — supplies the summer flow. On the plateau and through the Glens, ling heather flowers from August, and beekeepers within reach of the uplands can take a heather crop. Ivy matters more in Ireland than most people realise: it flowers heavily into October and gives colonies a substantial late store, and some producers bottle it separately. Belfast's parks, the Lagan corridor and mature suburban gardens support a growing number of city apiaries.
Soft-set clover and hedgerow honey through summer; darker heather from the Glens; distinctive white, sharply flavoured ivy honey in late autumn.
Flowering times are typical and can shift by two to three weeks with the weather, season and altitude.
Belfast, Ballymena, Antrim, Carrickfergus, Larne, Newtownabbey, Ballycastle, Lisburn
Ivy flowers from September into November and is a heavy nectar source in Ireland's mild autumn. Its honey sets almost white and hard, with a sharp, slightly medicinal flavour. Most is left on the hive as winter stores, but some producers take a little off — it is an acquired taste and a genuinely local one.
Yes, in small quantities from beekeepers with access to the uplands. Ling flowers from August on the basalt plateau and the honey comes off in September. As with all heather crops it is weather-dependent and limited, so contact producers directly in late summer.
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