There's a lot that can conspire to prevent raw honey reaching you.
The weather for instance. Last year was very dry and most beekeepers only got something like 20% of their normal production.
And in the case of David's honey....bears.
Bears love honey. They also love bees. But not in a caring sense.
Nothing makes a bear happier than to find a hive and to eat the contents, honey, bees, larvae, eggs, royal jelly,wax...the whole
lot.
In the case of David's hives they are getting a premium honey, the very best- from the utter wilderness that surrounds his hives.
When you go up into the mountains, where his hives are, you will see that the hives are surrounded by stone walls to protect them from the bears.
David looks a bit like a bear...well if you have a good imagination.
He's a large boned man who lumbers around with the gait of a bear. (You wouldn't want to cross him.)
And whilst the bears may not care about the bees David cares deeply about them. He tries to make their surroundings as tranquil as possible.
I went to see him and his bees in Galicia, which lies in the north-west of Spain.
It's a mountainous region, that looks more like Wales than dry dusty hot Spain.
Galicia is beautiful and green, and very, very wild.
Notice how in the photo we are not wearing any protective clothing, yet the bees are not bothered by our presence - a sure sign of tranquil and well treated bees.
David bees only produce a few types of honey because he practices static beekeeping - this means that he does not move the hives to different areas, depending on what is flowering.
His hives stay in one place - which either means Mountain or Forest honey with a few variations in between, like Chestnut, Wild Lavender and some Rosemary, which you find growing wild on the mountains.
He has won many awards for his honey - and also from conservationists for his bear friendly approach to beekeeping.
And if you have any questions about his honey don't hesitate to contact us via info@therawhoneyshop.com or 01273 682109.
