Trees and Bees

29/05/2026

With all this hot weather we have been able to extract a small amount of honey earlier than usual and it is now available in Celf Aran Arts. More will follow next month so no need to 'stock up', please leave some for others.

22/04/2026

19/03/2026

HONEY IS A PRIVILEDGE NOT A RIGHT

When the honey currently for sale in Celf Aran Arts runs out there will be no more for 3 months or so.

We can only extract honey from our hives from June to September. Before we take any we must be sure there is enough on the hive for the colony to survive a few days of bad weather. The bees always come first. There are always some colonies that give us little or no honey and most years there is at least one ‘super’ colony that collects so much we have to take it off frequently to give them room to collect more!

Yes, we keep bees for the honey and for their, often overlooked, pollination services, but the bees are the most important part of our ‘business’. The beekeeper’s role is to understand their needs and recognise when they are healthy and when they are struggling. We need to know what to do to help, and when it’s better to leave them alone. That’s the ‘art’ of beekeeping and it cannot be learnt from books alone – experience is key. Both personal experience over many years, and shared experiences between beekeepers who join together to form clubs and associations worldwide.

We’re benefitting currently from beekeepers in France, Spain and Belgium who are working out ways of protecting honeybee hives from the Yellow Legged Hornet.

Unfortunately, wild bees and other pollinators don’t have ‘keepers’ to come to their defence. Please take a moment to look at the insects feeding on flowering plants this Spring and Summer, and if you spot anything you’re unsure of, photograph it and post it … here or on Meirionnydd Beekeepers or on any of a number of insect ID pages and groups. Better still, get the Asian Hornet Watch app which has ID photos under the ‘species’ tab and report it via that app.

More YLH info on this link:
https://www.nationalbeeunit.com/diseases-and-pests/asian-hornet

02/01/2026

New to Celf Aran Arts today. Lovely quilting and bags.

Just joined Celf Aran Arts today! Yeh. Pop in and take a look.

18/12/2025

Nadolig llawen i bawb! Still a few more days for those last minute pressies. Searching for inspiration? Come into Celf Aran and have a browse.

14/12/2025

I've been making dipped candles today so they will be back in stock on our website at last, and some will be going into Celf Aran Arts in the next few days.

09/11/2025

Mae mêl ar gyfer coginio ar gael eto o Gelf Aran Arts yn Nolgellau.
We have cooking honey available again from Celf Aran Arts
This is honey that has been heated to over 60 degrees C to separate it from the beeswax. It has lost some of its delicate flavours and aromas, but is still good if you are going to cook with it or put it in a hot drink.
The picture shows wax cappings from the frames of honey, before melting down to separate the wax and honey.

13/09/2025

So here we are again, at the Conwy Honey Fair

14/08/2025

This where we'll be on Sunday with our honey and the skin creams, polish and candles we make with our beeswax. We're taking our display team too - a small colony of bees in an observation hive.