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.
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The pink granite chateau that the Cointreau family built in the Loire Valley is for sale at £3.5 millionThe great country seats of the Guinness family have an equivalent over the Channel, where the chateau built by the Cointreau family is on the market.
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Quiz ahoy! Even these gorgeous mice have been waiting for the Country Life Quiz of the Day, November 21, 2025From school reports in South America, it's all in today's Country Life quiz.
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Better than Ozempic? 50 years of the Brompton bicycleOwen Wilson, James May and most of the middle-aged men and condescending hipsters you know love them. As the iconic folding bike turns 50 Lotte Brundle hops on one with the company's CEO.
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What is everyone talking about this week: More than half the country owns a pet and nearly half our marriages end in divorce — no wonder pet-nups are on the risePet-nups, a formal agreement between couples over what should happen to their pets in the event of a split, are on the rise.
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Haute dogs: How fashion’s finest would dress 11 dogs and one very spoilt cat if only they had the chanceWe’ve matched some much-loved breeds to the designers that share their history, temperament and vibe — because why not. Illustrations by Tug Rice.
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Baby, it’s cold outside (even if you have a natural fur coat): How our animals brave the winter chillWhen the temperature drops, how do Britain’s birds, beasts and plants keep the cold at bay? John Lewis-Stempel reveals Nature’s own thermals.
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Yorkshire’s bravest and most charming gentleman — the Airedale terrierBred on Yorkshire’s riverbanks to face otters, snakes and even enemy fire, the Airedale has gone from the trenches of war to the hearts and homes of presidents and movie stars.
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Dangerous beasts (and where to find them): Britain's animals that are best left aloneJohn Lewis-Stempel provides a miscellany of our otherwise benign land’s more fearsome critters.
