Local Honey Bognor Regis

Raw, unpasteurised honey from The Elmer Honey Co., Dan and Jane's beekeeping business in Middleton-on-Sea near Bognor Regis, made by bees foraging along the Elmer and Middleton coast. Dan started with a single hive in 2018 and now has several apiaries. Their locations are kept private for security.

The honey is spun out in a centrifugal extractor, drained through two sieves into settling tanks and then jarred, without over-filtering. It comes runny or set, and the flavour varies from apiary to apiary and through the season: oilseed rape honey, for example, is jarred quickly before it sets. Beeswax from the hives becomes candles, beeswax polish, firelighters and a pet paw balm, and the online shop also sells bee-themed mugs, hampers and some beekeeping supplies.

You can buy from the honesty box outside their house in Lane End Road, Middleton-on-Sea, which they keep stocked with honey. Elmer honey is also stocked by Ye Olde Tudor Butchery in Middleton-on-Sea; by Chalcroft Nurseries, Little Piggies, The Coastal Coffee Co. and West Park Café around Bognor Regis; and by Pinks Parlour, which uses it in a honey ice cream. Further afield, look in Pier Road Coffee & Art in Littlehampton and Gaskyns in Arundel. Dan also collects swarms and removes wasp nests locally.