Still high after the inspection carried out yesterday I spent some time researching hives and asked a few people on Facebook which vendor they thought would best serve my needs.
I got lots of good advice but I eventually settled for Thorne in Windsor. I went to their website to check their location but found they had an outlet near Stockbridge just outside Winchester (kind of).
Now it's about the same distance as their Windsor store from me, but Stockbridge is so much nicer to drive to! A road trip on the A272 beckoned!
I love this road between Petersfield and Winchester! Great views across wonderful fields of wheat and some seriously good driving bends! Oops! This is supposed to be a bee blog!
So hives...
I have been very pleasantly surprised by Thorne's hives. I'm used to Dadant solid pine hives which are good, utilitarian, but good.
Thorne's hives are cedar - even their budget range - and they aren't what you call cheap, but the standard range (not budget range) is nice quality. I'm looking forward to a weekend of assembly. Once put together I'll post some pics of the finished product!
Anyway, after a very enjoyable time at the bee shop my wife and I (I had to drag her along) ended up at the Bombay Sapphire gin distillery in Laverstoke!
This is only a fewinutes away and it would have been rude not to go!
The distillery is in a lovely spot at an old pape mill at the head of the River Test; as clear a river as you can imagine. And a very informative tour we had too, followed of course by a rather splendid cocktail!
All in all its been a great couple of days, bees and gin, beautiful weather and scenery! And I'm currently cooking paella drinking some Spanish rose wine!
I LOVE SUMMER!
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