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  • London's best honey

  • By Zoe Kamen

    Posted: Wed Nov 3 2010

  • Try some of the best honey produced by the captial's busy bees.

    London's best honey

    Rob Greig

    • Capital Bee

      68 St Asaph Rd, SE4 2EL (020 7639 6581/www.capitalbee.co.uk). Brockley rail.

      Camilla Goddard has been keeping placid Carniolan bees for eight years. She now has 20 hives in a Brockley churchyard, Greenwich Park and Grove Park. Camilla also teaches beekeeping at the New Cross-based Green Shoots project and is creating a network of local beekeepers. Honey £3 direct or from selected retailers detailed on the website (227g).

    • Hive Honey Shop

      93 Northcote Rd, SW11 6PL (020 7924 6223/www.thehivehoneyshop.co.uk). Clapham Junction rail.

      James Hamill’s family have been beekeepers since 1922 and he set up his Clapham shop more than 20 years ago. The tiny space is crammed with a bewildering variety of honeys. There is even a colony of gentle Buckfast Abbey bees, visible through glass. James sells their honey along with others from the London area, providing a route to market for smaller hobbyist beekeepers. London honey from £8.95 (340g).

    • Golden Company

      Borough Market, SE1(07886 214329/www.thegoldenco-op.com). London Bridge tube/rail.

      Zoë Palmer set up the Hackney-based Golden Company last year, enabling young people to engage with their environment through keeping bees. At a monthly Borough Market stall, her Golden hives and others are plotted on a map so you can taste your way across London. Jars from £1.50 at Borough Market, last Saturday of every month.

    • London Honey Company

      Fortnum and Mason, W1A 1ER (07973 744331/www.thelondonhoneycompany.co.uk). Piccadilly Circus tube.

      Steve Benbow, the man behind the honey bees on the roof of Fortnum & Mason and the new Tate Modern honey, first started keeping bees 12 years ago on his roof near Tower Bridge. His next taster course on beekeeping is on November 27. Fortnum & Mason honey £12.95 (227g).

    • Regent’s Park Honey

      Pure Food, 58 Witley Court, Coram St, WC1N 1HD (07973 121800/www.purefood.co.uk). Russell Square tube.

      In an idyllic, secluded wildlife garden in the royal park, bee farmer Toby Mason has tended more than 40 hives of honey bees since 2004; they produce remarkable multi-floral honey. He runs beekeeping courses from a teaching apiary, which has a variety of hives and bees. £7.95-£13.95 from selected retailers (227g).

    • Urban Bees

      (07930 337907/www.urbanbees.co.uk)

      Alison Benjamin has been raising awareness about dwindling pollinator populations for years in her writings for The Guardian. She and Brian McCallum first started keeping bees in 2006, and they now run a teaching apiary in Camley Street Nature Park. The honey comes from two sites in Battersea, where they also host informative beekeeping courses. £5 (227g) mail order or from delicatessen A Gold, 42 Brushfield St, E1 6AG.

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1 comment

  1. Posted by tim archer on 17 Nov 2010 11:28

    saw the golden company at Borough Market last month. Delicious honey, keep up the good work!

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