Bees are vital for life on Earth because of their invaluable contributions to biodiversity, the fact that they pollinate plants and the products that come from them, such as honey and beeswax. Imagine a world without wonderful honey, a sweetener, spread and salve. In Greek mythology, the Gods feasted on ambrosia, believed to bestow power and immortality on the consumer and regularly associated with honey.
There are 276 species of bee in the UK — nearly all of which are found in London. Urban beekeeping is now a popular pastime, with more than 5,000 hives rumoured to be active in the capital, including in Islington gardens (above).
Notable locations include Fortnum & Mason and The Ritz hotel, as well as Kew Gardens, Buckingham Palace and Lambeth Palace. The two Clarence House hives are home to more than 90,000 bees and produce about 40lb of honey every single year (honeybees are not the only bee species who live in hives, but they are the primary honey producers). Clarence House resident The Queen is president of charity Bees for Development, which has a Balcony Garden at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. In a neat coincidence, the Tuesday of Chelsea (May 20) is World Bee Day.
The Bees of Development Balcony Garden is sponsored by The London Honey Company, which was established in 1999 by Steve Benbow (left). Inspired by the illegal rooftop beekeepers in New York, US, he started with a few hives on his roof overlooking Tower Bridge.
London honey can take on a staggering array of flavours, depending on which part of the city the bees who made it went foraging in for nectar. East London honey has undertones of citrus; north London honey is darker in colour and richer in flavour because of the abundance of wildflower species. East, north, south or west, it’s all delicious.
-
Anatomy, alcohol and physical activity: Country Life's Quiz of the Day, August 11, 2025It's Monday which means Quiz of the Day is back to test your general knowledge.
-
What everyone is talking about this week: Would you swim in the River Thames?Week in, week out, Will Hosie rounds up the hottest topics on everyone's lips, in London and beyond.
-
What everyone is talking about this week: Would you swim in the River Thames?
Week in, week out, Will Hosie rounds up the hottest topics on everyone's lips, in London and beyond.
-
'I really believe they increase productivity': If you want to get ahead, bring your dog to the officeEnhancing employee morale and increasing productivity is no longer reliant on outdated management techniques. The solution is simple, and on four legs.
-
‘She’s absolutely everything to me. She’s my future, my hope, my light’: How Labrador retrievers went from catching fish to saving livesAs International Assistance Dog Awareness Week comes to an end, we celebrate the Labrador retriever, one of the most cherished and versatile dog breeds.
-
Reading al fresco: The best places in London to get lost in the written word, according to the Country Life teamIn London, north, east, south and west, there's a public place suitable for all performative acts of reading.
-
Marsh Harriers: The wetland-loving bird that defied the odds to reconquer British skiesMark Cocker's first ever sighting of the bird was at Minsmere, Suffolk, in 1976 — and he's never forgotten it.
-
Louis Wain: The Edwardian artist who was 'perhaps the best PR cats have ever had'The artist's fascination with cats is the subject of a show at Chris Beetles Gallery which will feature 25 previously unseen works by Wain.
-
Killer whales: The perilously rare and super-smart predator we risk loosing from British waters foreverThey’ve recently made headlines for interfering with boats, but intelligent, family-focused and remarkably long-lived orcas–better known as killer whales–contain multitudes.
-
‘Though she be but little, she is fierce’: Everything you didn't know about sparrowhawksScourge of the bird feeder and a master of ‘shock and awe’ assassinations, the sparrowhawk pursues its quarry with such tenacity and unpredictability that it often blindsides its prey.
