During 2025 The Association successfully applied for a grant to help fund the building of a dedicated Training and Education facility at its Eshott Apiary.
- Update at September 2025
- Update at end of October 2025
- Update at November 2025
- Update at end of December 2025
Background
The Association’s objectives are the encouragement, improvement and advancement of the craft of beekeeping and to promote the awareness and the benefits of bees and beekeeping to the general public. In order to do this, we provide
- free theoretical and practical training in Beekeeping to prospective Beekeepers,
- mentoring support to new beekeepers,
- lectures to adult groups on bees and beekeeping and
- talks and demonstrations to Schoolchildren.
To date all this work is either carried out in a small roofed, but open area, at the Apiary or at local halls and schools but earlier this year The Association decided to extend its training and education work by creating a dedicated Training and Education facility at its Eshott Apiary.
In Spring 2025, The Association successfully applied for a grant towards the funding of this new building and work is now well under way.
Once finished, the Training and Education facilities will include the following:
- Disabled access to the new building, a fully equipped kitchen, seating and tables for up to 30 people and an additional new toilet with disabled access
- An observation window to allow all participants to see the hives and see demonstrations of hive manipulations, complete with an audio system to allow the Demonstrator to talk to the Viewers
- Training equipment to allow training and education presentations and also to see live action and videos from one of our bee hives.
A lot of work has already been done to date as shown below:
This is how the site looked before and after work was done on clearing away all the vegetation.
Before
After
Thereafter the foundations were completed and the building started to take shape.
Timber frames for the external walls went up
Followed by external cladding
Then the cladding was painted and recently windows and doors started to be fitted.
It is anticipated that, subject to the weather, the external walls, windows and roof panels will be completed and weather proofed during October 2025 and we hope to have the building completed and ready for use for the start of the 2026 Training sessions.
Update at the end of October 2025
A lot of work has been successfully completed on the roof, external wall cladding and the windows and pleasingly the recent heavy and prolonged rain has shown that the roof is watertight.
Next steps include installing patio doors, guttering, drains, flooring and first fix electricity and water supply.
Update at end of November
We now have
- patio doors
- temporary lighting and
- good progress has been made on the first fix electric and water supply installation.
The photo shows the observation window where visiting children and adult groups will be able to see and hear a beekeeper carrying out bee hive inspections.
Other works, not shown, include the routing for the power and water supply and rainwater drainage ditches for the roof guttering.
Update at end of December
Work continues to progress well. We now have a front door, patio doors and a fully completed floor! First fix electrics are in hand and the next steps are:
1. the internal wall and roof insulation and cladding
2. the access pathway and entry ramp to make the building wheelchair accessible
3. the power and water supply connections from the mains supply’s
Weather permitting, the above will be tackled in January 2026.
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Alnwick and District Beekeepers Association 
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