Before the Covid pandemic we had 11 bee hives and these were managed by Brian Newsome but due to ill health he had to sell these bees. Some of the hives were left with us and during lock down a feral Queen and her swarm moved in.
This was Charles’ introduction to beekeeping and he and Brian met the feral swarm. Charles, unfortunately, got stung by the swarm around 30 times and respect for the Queen was quickly found. Around 2½ years later the brood was split and a second Buckfast Queen was introduced with far more mellow pheromones.
We are delighted to announce that over the years we have grown from having 2 to 7 to 11 hives which are protected by a fence in an area surrounded by wildflowers and two orchards. This is perfect for the bees and is a quiet area which allows the happy bees to collect nectar.

One bee lives less than 40 days, visits at least 1000 flowers and produces less than a teaspoon of honey. For us it’s a teaspoon, for a bee it’s a lifetime of work and we thank them for that.
The honey produced at Ransom Wood is used in our dishes served at Forever Green and is available to buy at the Restaurant as well as Ransom Hall Reception.
Published: 13th August 2026
We’re delighted to welcome Teresa Hall MBACP of The Freedom Counselling to Ransom Wood.
Published: 29th July 2026
We’re delighted to welcome team SPOX to the Ransom Wood community.