Twickenham and Thames Valley Beekeepers' Association

TTVBKA Library System – Patrick Brennan
2026-05-08 20:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London) | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Patrick will provide an overview on the new library system including how to create an account, search for publication and reserve a book.

Swarms! – Ray Nicol
2026-05-01 20:00 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Ray will give a short talk on swarms.

Nosema and Acarine workshop
2026-04-25 10:00 - 14:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Have your bees tested for acarine and nosema. To be tested you need to bring along a sample of at least 30 bees. The bees will be killed if you bring them alive to the lab.
If we have enough time we will guide you through doing the tests yourself if you wish.

My Experience as a Beekeeper - Stephen Taylor
2026-04-24 20:00 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
TTVBKA member Stephen Taylor will be sharing insights from his own beekeeping journey and the lessons he’s learned along the way.

Committee meeting
2026-04-22 19:30 - 21:00, 2026-03-11 19:30 - 21:00, 2026-01-28 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-12-17 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-11-12 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-10-01 19:30 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
This is the regular meeting of the committee. Meet at the apiary.

BBKA Spring Convention
2026-04-19 08:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-18 08:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-17 08:00 - 17:00 | Harper Adams University
The BBKA’s annual spring event at Stoneleigh.
Three days of seminars on beekeeping, workshops and a trade show.
This is not a TTVBKA event.

First night for beginners - Practical
2026-04-10 18:30 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
First evening in the apiary with the bees – weather permitting

Woodworking workshop
2026-03-28 10:00 - 14:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Ray and the Apiary team will be running a woodwork shop for those that are new to or not too confident in building frames, brood boxes, supers, stands etc. This workshop will also be of use to those that are taking the Basic Assessment this year as making a frame is a key element of the assessment.

AGM
2026-03-27 19:30 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Our Annual General Meeting, voting on proposals, voting for officials and committee members, deciding on the direction the association will take for the coming season.

March Module exam
2026-03-21 09:00 - 14:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Date for exam. Usually held in the Twickenham apiary unless it is taken online.
1st sitting 09:30-11:10, 2nd sitting (if there is one) 11:30-13:10.

First night for beginners
2026-03-20 18:30 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Beginners, non-beekeeping, intros & info

First night for Members
2026-03-13 18:30 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
First night of the new season for members

Winter course - Swarm mangement and control
2026-03-05 19:00 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
What is swarming? Why do bees swarm? Why is it important to beekeepers and what can beekeepers do about it.

Winter course - Seasonal management
2026-02-26 19:00 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
How a hive/colony is managed throughout the year. What the beekeeper needs to do during different parts of the year as the needs of the bees and the environment/weather changes. How, what you do, depends on what type of beekeeper you are.

Winter course - The Beehive
2026-02-19 19:00 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Development of the beehive. What constitutes a hive, how and why a hive is manipulated. Look at other pieces of equipment: clothing, tools etc.

Winter course - Pests and diseases
2026-02-12 19:00 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Bees have their own pests and diseases as we do. Look at what they are and how they affect individual bees, bee colonies and the consequences for beekeeping. “Meet” the yellow legged /Asian hornet which has been in the media. Legislation – Pest and diseases control order.

Last date for March module application
2026-02-08 08:00 - 17:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom

Winter course - Bees, Plants and Honey
2026-02-05 19:00 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
How does the bee colony survive? Honey and pollen. How are they detected/collected and processed. How do the bees interact with the plant world? How do we interact with the bees to get honey. How do we as beekeeper process honey for consumption and selling? Legislation – the Honey regs.

Winter course - The community of the bees
2026-01-29 19:00 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
The community of the bees. How the bee colony is more than just a collection of individuals. It can be viewed as a Superorganism. How the colony bees have evolved to co-operate with each other, how the colony is regulated – how it functions.

Winter course - A life's work
2026-01-22 19:00 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
A life’s work. start by looking at the basics – honey bees as individuals, the honey bee life cycle (insect life cycle) naming of parts, how they develop, the different types of honey bees in a hive/colony? What do they eat? What comes into and goes out of the hive?

Winter course - Introduction to beekeeping in the UK
2026-01-15 19:00 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Overall view of beekeeping in the uk. The importance of bees and pollinators and why learn about them? What are the issues around bees and pollinators. What is meant by a ‘bee’ anyway? Do I want to become a beekeeper- an overall view of what’s involved? The organisations and the ethics, styles of beekeeping

BBKA Module assessment
2025-11-15 09:00 - 13:30 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
If anyone is taking a module assessment, then they take place today. Assessments can be in-person or online. In person assessment take place at the apiary.

President's evening
2025-11-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Presentation on a bee/pollinator related subject from an external speaker (TBA) followed by social evening.

Module study group
2025-11-13 19:30 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Final study group meeting. Exam is this coming Saturday.

Module study group
2025-11-05 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-10-29 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-10-22 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-10-15 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-10-08 19:30 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Study group for module 2.
The next and last meeting is on the 13th due to a committee meeting on Wednesday the 12th

TTVBKA Honey Show - open to public
2025-10-05 13:00 - 16:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Honey show open to the public. Auction to be held towards the end of the day.

TTVBKA Honey Show (Judging only)
2025-10-04 10:00 - 17:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Judging takes place today. NOT open to the public.

TTVBKA Honey Show (last day for entries)
2025-10-03 18:30 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
This is the last day to get you entries in befor judging begins tomorrow.

Module study group
2025-10-02 19:30 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Study group for module 2 ie products of the hive. This sesson is on a Thursday as there is a committee meeting on the Wednesday. The last meeting on November the 13th is also on a Thursday for the same reason. All other meetings are on Wednesdays.

Last date for BBKA Module assessment applications
2025-09-30 08:00 - 17:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
This is just a reminder. There is no event taking place on this date.
This is the last date to get your module applicatons in. Module assessment takes place on the 15th November

Last night for members
2025-09-26 18:30 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Last night of the season. Traditionally, no beekeeping takes place. Usually just a social evening.

BBKA September Talk: ‘Preparation for Showing’
2025-09-16 19:00 - 20:00 | online
The next in our series of BBKA Zoom talks will be ‘Preparation for Showing’ with Liz Westcott on Tuesday 16th September 2025 at 7pm. A recording of this talk will be available on YouTube for those unable to watch live.
Liz will give an overview of how to prepare honey and beeswax for the Show table. She will be looking at processing wax to a good standard so it is then possible to use it for making candles, one ounce blocks or a cake of wax. She understands that everyone’s approach to wax processing differs depending on the facilities and resources available to them. There are several different methods of doing this. Liz will show you the method which works best for her but you may well do it differently and as long as clean wax is the end product then all is well. Liz will also talk about preparing honey for the Show table.
Liz has been keeping bees in Brixham, South Devon, for twenty years. She started showing about fifteen years ago and has enjoyed a certain amount of success at local honey shows. She is President of Devon BKA, Chair of Torbay BKA and for the last eight years has been the Chair and Show Secretary for the Bees and Honey Marquee at Devon County Show where the Devon Honey Show is held each year.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81233819992?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 812 3381 9992 Passcode: [REDACTED]
Kind regards,
Jane Medwell
BBKA Trustee

Zoom Talk by Andrew Durham
2025-09-03 19:30 - 20:30 | online
Yellow-legged Asian Hornet – Is Nest Destruction a Dangerous Delusion? Is Spring Trapping the Lesser of Two Evils? – Wednesday 3rd September 7.30pm.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83766798003?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 837 6679 8003 Passcode: [REDACTED]

Honey Market
2025-08-25 12:00 - 16:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
The annual Honey Market where members sell their honey from the Twickenham apiary

Basic Assessment
2025-08-21 09:00 - 17:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Basic assessment at the apiary

Committee meeting
2025-08-20 19:30 - 21:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
This is the regular meeting of the committee. Meet at the apiary

Basic Assessment
2025-08-14 09:00 - 17:00 | Twickenham apiary, The Apiary, 41 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1BH, United Kingdom
Basic assessments at the apiary
