2024 W/E course 8/9th June- How to be a Bee Keeper  

8th/9th June 2024 Weekend - New Beekeeper Course at Temple Newsam

For people interested in taking up Beekeeping as a hobby, Leeds Beekeepers Association are offering a number of courses for beginners during 2024. At the end of our new beekeeper course, you will be in a position to start keeping your own honey bees.

The full course dates and times are:

Saturday 8th June 2023 - 9.30am till 4pm

Sunday  9th June 2023 - 9.30am till 4pm  You must attend both days.

Course dates are subject to change pending weather conditions; fingers crossed for a fine weekend. We do have gazebos for protection should there be a light shower.

We will hold the course at our Temple Newsam apiary, for directions to the site click here. We will use classrooms on the farm to deliver part of the course in the morning on each day, the additional sessions will be at the apiary.

This weekend course covers both beekeeping theory (including colony composition, swarm control, hive types, buying bees, apiary locations, getting started, where to purchase equipment from) and practical beekeeping where you will be tutored whilst inspecting live colonies of bees. 

As part of your fee, you will become a member of Leeds Beekeepers Association and the British Beekeepers Association which will include a beekeeping magazine, BBKA News, every month throughout the year.

Over the weekend we provide tea/coffee/biscuits/juice; however, we request that you bring a packed lunch on both days. There are no catering facilities on site. [Those in the courtyard near the farm are at least 15 minutes' walk away].

The aim of the weekend course is to be enjoyable and educational. The course is aimed at individuals who have no previous experience. All courses are led by experienced and/or qualified beekeepers and are designed so that at the end, participants will have sufficient knowledge and confidence to keep their own bees.

Any child attending must be accompanied by a paying adult. 

We provide bee suits and gloves for use during the course but you need to bring your own footwear, preferably wellies to ensure your ankles are covered.

Here are a selection of photos from a previous weekend course

There is car parking at Temple Newsam, (there may be a charge - consultation currently in place within Leeds City Council). .We are quite close to the 'Go Ape' adventure park which is very popular, an early start should secure enough parking spaces.  'Go Ape' is a good landmark, our apiary is signposted from there.

In addition to the formal courses, we also meet at our apiary at Temple Newsam every Wednesday evening from April to September. All members are actively encouraged to simply turn up and either just "talk bees” or get suited up and tag along with someone who is doing an inspection of the bees.

We are also in a position to assist in supplying locally sourced and reared Yorkshire bees and assist in acquiring new equipment at fair prices. Details will be provided during the course.

If you have any disability, please make us aware before you attend so we can meet any special requirements if needed.

Once you have booked a place, to avoid emails being lost in Spam folders please

  put us into your safe Contacts List as 'Leeds Beekeepers Association <lbka@webcollect.org.uk>'

Support offered during and after the course:

• Comprehensive course notes and presentations
• Mentoring (at least 4 weeks) to those that purchase nucs from LBKA
• Attendance at Weds Apiary meetings- experienced beekeepers on hand to discuss problems
• Attendance at Improver sessions in the apiary throughout the Spring/Summer
• Attendance at hive inspections on a Monday afternoon (limited by availability)
• Encouragement and support to undertake the BBKA Basic Assessment after at least 12 months of beekeeping

For our Policy on Refunds please click here

If you would like a course Gift Certificate please ask (education@leedsbeekeepers.org.uk) and we can arrange this for you. 

Location: Temple Newsam Apiary, Leeds

Contact: