The Bee Centre — Local services in Chorley

Getting up close and personal to some extraordinary black bees in the heart of Lancashire was a birthday treat from my family. What a treat it was too. Our hosts for the morning were the brilliant Simon and Kath, whose passion for their bee families and hives is infectious. They are clearly motivated to spend time engaging and working with their visitors to promote sustainable pollination. We kicked off with a brief and fun introduction on what to expect, and were kitted out with our trendy bee keeper outfits and wellies. The hives are just a short walk up the lane, where we spent a good while taking the hive apart and watching these extraordinary insects going about their daily buzzyness whilst seemingly mooching around the hive - they work pretty hard it turns out, in all sorts of jobs during their lifetime, from nursing through to disposing of their dead buddies. We even witnessed one little baby bee popping out of it’s birthing pod. We left our little friends to their work, popped the lid back on and headed back for the honey tasting experience. Simon gave us more information about honey made from different nectar sources and ethical production. A lovely way to relax in the Lancashire sunshine. I found the whole experience humbling, and probably one of the best things I’ve done in a long while. Go do it guys, and see for yourself what an amazing contribution bees make to our communities and environment. You won’t be disappointed. Oh, and the gin distillery next door is pretty good too!...

I have a 6 year old son who loves anything to do with wildlife and the natural world, we have recently taken an interest in bees and saw the bee centre did experiences with no minimum age limit (a lot are minimum age 8) , I enquired and Simon emailed back to say there was nothing left this year, however he had just had a cancellation for the following day if we could make it at short notice. We jumped at the opportunity and it truly didn't disappoint! We absolutely loved it, from start to finish we were put at ease, the staff were so friendly and brilliant with the children, my son had zero fear about getting stung, the bees are very gentle and have no desire whatsoever to sting so there really is nothing to be afraid of. We found the queen bee, watched babies hatching, looked at the honey being made and then went back to try all the different honeys produced. Amy was so informative and it was obvious how passionate she and Simon were about the care of the bees. The honey tasted incredible. We will be back next year! But with a husband and little girl in tow too! Thanks again,...

We had a really lovely time at the bee center, Kath and Simon were really welcoming as soon as we arrived. Throughout the experience they remembered our names which gave it a really personal touch. I learnt so much about the bees and it was great to see all the different hives, Queen bees and ones in the making. We saw a swarm on our way up too, and learnt about why the bees do that. They take pictures for you at no extra cost which was really lovely. It was great to know that they keep the bees for the sake of the bees and not for their honey, they only collect honey when it is in excess and do it more for sustainability and pollination. After our tour of the bees we got to sit down and try some of the different honeys and we bought a few of the ones we like. We’ll be using some in baking and making some nice drinks. They even do bee keeping courses and sell hive start up and can perform home checks and help out if you’re having a trouble. We would definitely recommend this experience for anyone who loves bees or just wants to know a bit more about them. A...