Of hives and hens: Summer courses

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Whether chicken-rearing, beekeeping, or baking bread, the country idyll has a timeless allure. But Samantha Laurie says to be sure you're prepared; take a course first

We’ve all had those dreams of rural life: a garden full of hens; children (barefoot, tangle-haired) gathered around the kitchen table (rustic, knobbly) making cute labels for the home-made marmalade; perhaps a hive of honeybees in the garden…

But is it really for you? Perhaps, before you rush off to start googling fox-proof chicken runs, it might be an idea to join a course designed to give families a taste of country living.

Hen Corner, for example, is a rural idealist’s fantasy: courses in beekeeping, hen rearing and bread/pizza baking, plus chutney and cider making. It is the brainchild of Sara Ward, an ex-international banker on a mission to provide food for her family from her own suburban garden in Brentford.

Today – two bee colonies, eight raised beds, 11 fruit and nut trees and 14 hens into the project – Sara is a one-woman whirlwind of rural enterprise and self-sufficiency, dedicated to giving others the confidence to follow her lead. The courses take place in her own garden, with a focus on both the practical and ethical issues of food production.

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However, if it’s the bees that give you a buzz, the London Beekeepers’ Association is another fruitful port of call.

“There are up to 74 species of bird on this land,” enthuses Richard Glassborow, chair of the LBKA, out walking his dogs on Tooting Common. 

“The Victorian legacy is this remarkably green city with its incredible variety of wildlife. This land has never been farmed – and the bees love it!” 

In fact, urban bees are flourishing. New research shows that Britain’s town and city centres are home to more types of wild bee than are found on farms. Gardens, allotments and parks, where pesticides are rare and forage varied – from brambles along train lines to the waterlilies in ponds – provide a healthier, happier diet than vast swathes of monocrops.

At the LBKA Saturday morning mentoring session, held in a community garden in Clapham, another healthy sign: 10 eager new beekeepers learning how to manage their own hives on one of the most sought-after courses in the city. It’s no small commitment: the two-day course (£150) is followed by a year of weekly meetings with a mentor before the trainee is ready to fly solo.

Yet urban beekeeping has never been more popular. So often there are hives above our heads – from Tate Modern to White Lion Walk Shopping Centre in Guildford. Courses are booming and many of the newbies are young families, drawn in by the plight of the honeybee and the mysteries of worldwide colony collapse. 

How much it all helps in the eco-crusade to save the bee is uncertain – training yet more beekeepers may have less effect than creating gardens filled with wildflowers and weeds. But bees are endlessly fascinating for kids. So much so that one beekeeper trainer, Surrey Bees at Wisley, has devised a number of summer camps for juniors (aged 10+), while demand from teenagers keen to learn beekeeping for their Duke of Edinburgh Award is soaring. 

Not everyone wants their own bees. The commitment (particularly from May – Sept), cost (circa £500 to start) and risks (swarm management is vital for good relations with your neighbours) put many off. 

One compromise is a managed hive. Barnes Bees, near Richmond, cares for hives in family gardens, tailoring the package to be as interactive as you like – either by putting children in protective suits and getting them inside the hive, or by placing the hive near a window so that they can see how it works without becoming involved. 

For a yearly fee, Barnes Bees manages all the beekeeping, while you get plenty of your own honey, a boost in flower and produce production (up to 20-30% increase in flowering plants near a hive) and a lovely warm environmental glow.

Here's a few country courses you can throw yourself into this month:

• Hen Corner is running the Family, Feathers and Fun chicken-keeping course this month (May 26 2-4pm, £45 for one adult and up to two children). Before that, they're offering A Day At Hen Corner, a full day of chicken-rearing, beekeeping, and bread-making skills, plus home-made lunch (May 19, £90).
• Twickenham and Thames Valley Bee Keepers Association, which has one of the oldest apiaries in the land, is launching a new five-week practical course beginning this month, with an open day on June 6.
• Surrey Bees at Wisley, near Guildford, is running junior summer camps in July. Places on its practical, eight-week beekeeping course cost £75.
• London Beekeeper's Association runs a two-day introductory course (£150) at Eden Community Garden in Clapham.

You can check out breadmaking courses and bakery fun this month with Catherine Whyte