Conwy Honey

Streets of gold...

Last weekend (23-24 October) Conwy’s Food Festival took place, showcasing local produce and incorporating workshops around the town. This is always worth a visit. But of more historical interest is the Conwy Honey Fair.
This 700-year-old street market takes place annually on 13 September and is traditionally where local beekeepers sell their summer produce. It dates from a charter granted by Edward I and on this day stalls are free for local beekeepers to sell honey, plus other products such as beeswax candles, within the town walls. Fruit, vegetables, and plants are also sold but the jars of honey predominate – as much as a tonne of honey can be sold by lunchtime! The going rate this year was £5 for a pound in weight of honey.

There was a wide variety available. Most beekeepers can tell you where their hives were situated and what blossom they visited when laying down the honey. This can range from hawthorn (traditionally the best) to heather (thick and bubbly in texture, distinctive in taste) or Himalayan Balsalm (viewed as a pest but yields citrus tinged honey; when the weather was bad it sustained some hives) and some hives even visited rare flowers amongst sand dunes and their surrounding area at Newborough on Anglesey.

Most stalls offer tastings so it’s a treat for a honey connoisseur – and it is fun to see the odd bee circling an open jar as if in approval of the quality! The chairman of the local beekeepers association was available for a chat or advice and his honey was selling as fast as it could be unloaded (sales limited to two jars per person) so we are looking forward to tasting it. Look out for a Plate Up Honey play-off in the future!

For more about local beekeeping, honey and recipes visit the Conwy Beekeepers' homepage ...