lVivian's Honey

Spirit of the Beehive

It starts as a low thrum. As we move closer the sound becomes a resonant buzz , I'm with beekeeper George Tonkin at Vivan's honey farm in Devon . From behind my bee-proof veil I watch thousands of bees at work gathering nectar from wild flowers and turning it into honey . George who works with his bare hands has kept bees for more than 35years . Although beekeeping might seem like the ultimate back to nature vocation, it is hard work . The job is made harder by verroa, a parasitic mite that live on honey bees . ''The parasite causes deformities in the bees , decreased production and decreased longevity'' .

George explains I have lost a lot of hives because of it .

The mite can be controlled with chemicals  but George is wary of pesticides , he says ''Honey is meant to be a pure product ''

The bees fed on hawthorn then bluebell before moving on to hedgerow plants and clover . George also keeps bees on moor-land that make heather honey .

When people ask George if he is going to retire he says ''beekeeping is a source of infinite fascination , I couldn't give it up it's far too absorbing.

In a tasting The heather honey  was described as ''Exactly like the honey I ate as a child growing up in rural Perthshire '' said Guy Diamond While Jill Mead praised it's  ''moorland strength and toffee-ish finish.