|
|
British National Beehives
Based in a small workshop in Tideswell in the Peak District we make British National Beehives out of 1st grade Western Red Cedar, high quality Red Deal or, when available, locally sourced Western Red Cedar according to the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) Modified National Hive Plans. Everything we sell we make here in the Peak District. The driving forces behind peak-hives.co.uk are sustainability and quality workmanship. Sustainability because, well it matters quite a bit we think and quality workmanship because customer satisfaction is paramount.
Fully Assembled National Hives
Flat Pack National Hives
webcam...
Want to see your National Hive being made? Here's what's going on in the workshop right now. The image is updated every 10 minutes during working hours. Click to see full size...
blog...
The rest of the centre column is an ongoing blog of what's new at peak-hives.co.uk and other items of interest...veg garden...renewables etc, but please don't let reading about the allotment distract you from placing your order...:-)
Regional FERA Bee Inspector Tim Roper called round under the FERA free inspection offer (you need to register with Beebase in order to qualify for a free inspection and it’s definitely worth it. My opinion is that it in these times registration should be obligatory. Anyway, after looking at Peak Hives 2 colonies he pronounced them in good health. There was some evidence of chalk brood but not enough to cause too much concern.
The bees are now filling up the new super with drawn comb and there’s the ‘old socks’ smell of Dandelion honey. Tim says it’s quite nice to eat though.
 Fera Inspecting Peak Hives Apiary
We’ve now got two strong looking colonies of British Black Bee (Apis Mellifera Mellifera) in the Peak Hives Apiary. On inspection the other day with our experienced beekeeping friend Carl we popped off a cap from a drone cell and there looking up at us was a fat and annoyingly healthy Varroa Destructor mite. Today I decided to start a monitoring process using the slide out trays on our Varroa floors which will be in the hives for the next seven days. When they are removed the mite drop will be counted and action taken if the mite drop is above certain suggested levels (see the Beebase page on Varroa and the very useful Varroa Calculator).
I read somewhere about putting oil onto the paper laid on the slide out trays to make sure the little buggers can’t get away or don’t blow away and in the photo you can see the two trays that went into the hives today at 4pm. On the right is just plain white paper and on the left the paper has been liberally coated with sunflower oil. I did wonder if the smell from the oil might cause fright to the bees. Perhaps someone with better knowledge could comment on that. Anyway in they went and now to wait for the results.
 Varroa Mite Monitoring
It’s taken up most of the afternoon but I’ve just been down to Rowsley Sawmill and picked up the latest batch of locally sourced Western Red Cedar. I’ve had a towbar fitted to the Peak Hives Berlingo this morning and then borrowed my brothers 3/4 tonne trailer to pick up the lumber. It will now join the Chatsworth Cedar to be seasoned ready for making up into National Hives. The Chatsworth Cedar is feeling lighter by the day now and I’ve started machining up some hive parts with it. Cedar is an incredibly good wood to work and it’s characteristics are so well suited for beehive construction. Many thanks to Adele and Dave at the Peak Park for helping me get to the trees before they were chopped up for firewood!
 Peak District Cedar
Tree Surgeon Paul Johnson kindly allowed me to harvest some local Western Red Cedar for making into British National Hives. I’m due to pick up the Cedar from Rowsely Sawmill tomorrow after which it’ll join the Chatsworth Cedar for seasoning. Paul’s son Perry is very keen (and very knowledgeable!) on birds and wanted a dovecote so I decided that it would be easy enough for me to return the favour. Here’s a quick photo of the result.
 Dovecote Luckily Perry has found some doves locally and they are now in their garden shed awaiting a new home. All that’s needed now is to put some felt on the roof and paint/stain and the birds can move in.
Best of luck Perry!
There’s nothing worse than woodworking for leaving you with egg on your face. It happens in even the very best cabinet makers. Just as this standard National Hive floor was about to leave the workshop to be sent out to the customer I decided to lay the tape measure across it and lo and behold it was 8mm short in one dimension! The workshop air didn’t quite turn blue but I did sigh with relief that I wasn’t going to get a call in a couple of days asking why my National Hive floors were different sizes to everyone elses.
 oops! The only solution was to quickly make up another as the rest of the order was ready for delivery.
To err is human.
The idea of turning the joinery workshop into a National Hives business originally arose out of my own desire to start beekeeping and a few months ago I was lucky enough to meet Richard H who offered a couple of colonies in exchange for equipment. Last week I travelled down (in the new Peak Hives livery) and picked up two hives bursting to the seams with British Black Bees. After a very nervous journey up the M1 I made it back to Tideswell and with some effort in the dark managed to get the hives in place. I was concerned that it might have been early in the year to bring colonies up here to the cold Peak but the bees were ready so delay was out of the question.
Yesterday I had a window of opportunity to do a first inspection and super the colonies.
 First Bee Inspection So far, to my untrained eye, everything looks good. Now to see if the combination of the often inclement (to say the least) Peak District weather and my inexperience as a beekeeper will not result in disaster. I will do my very best. Fortunately I’m with Chesterfield BKA who are known to be very supportive and also have a couple of aquaintances who are experienced beekeepers who might be able to lend a hand.
|
To Order
You can purchase everything for a National Hive here on a single page. If you're looking at buying a complete hive then please use the center column...for National Hive parts please use the left hand column.
You can view your order at any time here...
If you have any problems ordering please email nicholas@peak-hives.co.uk and we'll reply as soon as possible.
You can also call Nicholas or Adriana on 07594 583 151 but emailing is best as it allows Nick to be more productive in the workshop and get orders out earlier. All hives / hive parts are custom made to order. Please remember that our priorities are quality and sustainability and not making a quick profit out of mass produced items.
If you have a large order (eg 10 plus hives) then discounts will be available. Please call to discuss but please remember our prices are already very competitive.
Delivery/Collection
If you're within pickup distance then we welcome collection in person direct from our workshop in Tideswell. Otherwise UK mainland delivery charges are as follows:
£0.01 to £99.99 = £9.99
£100 to 199.99 = £7.99
over £200.00 = free delivery
If your order is to ship to Northern Ireland, The Channel Islands, Republic of Ireland or the Highlands and Islands please add extra postage by clicking this button...
Peak Hives is, and will remain, a small cottage industry. We have a small dedicated workshop and Nick makes all our products to order. Due to the huge increase in interest in beekeeping we are very busy at the moment. If you have a time critical order then please call Nick/Adriana on 07594 583 151 and we will always try our best to accommodate your needs. Please note that the current turn around on orders is approximately 2-3 weeks. Testimonials "...Hi, I’ve just received my new nucleus hive and I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s far too nice to go outside, it’s more like a piece of furniture!..."
"...The quality looks really good, and I am looking forward to assembling the first one to see how they look."
"...Once again I compliment you on the top quality of your products, excellent, it's nice doing business with someone who cares..."
"...arrived and look excellent - the nuke in particular is a masterpiece"
"...really gratifying to know that there are still craftspeople in this world who can turn out high quality products, use sustainable business practices and materials, still charge an accessible price and deal with customers in a friendly manner..."
"...thanks for the hive its gone together well and is now waiting for its bees!"
"...arrived this morning, very nice, I am well pleased with it."
"...Just to say thanks for you effort to get the bee hive to us. The brother-in-law is a happy fellow..."
"...were easy to assemble and all functioning...The quality of timber is also so much better than other ones I've had..."
"...Nuc’s just arrived. Many thanks for getting it out to me before the weekend. It looks really good, can’t wait to put it together so I can split my colony and put it to some good use..."
|
Assembled Cedar £24.02
Assembled Red Deal £18.55
Assembled Cedar £41.52
Assembled Red Deal £27.89
Cedar £33.96
Assembled Cedar £31.96
Assembled Red Deal £22.21
Assembled Cedar £39.97
Assembled Red Deal £27.50
Cedar £30.22
Assembled Cedar £60.65
Assembled Red Deal £47.45
Assembled Cedar £24.22
Assembled Red Deal £17.86
Cedar £22.96
Assembled Cedar £52.87
Assembled Red Deal £34.54
Cedar £42.25
Framed Queen Excluders suitable for both top and bottom bee space. £16.78
Facilitates administration of 'Apiguard' and can be used as a Clearer Board with the supplied Porter Bee Escapes. £17.23
Can also be used as a Clearer Board with the supplied Porter Bee Escapes. £12.55
Transparent alternative to the Crown Board. Allows viewing bees with minimal disruption to the colony. £17.21
Assembled Cedar £17.96
Assembled Red Deal £16.88
Metal Runners 94p per pair
£2.54
