Sarah Haynes talks about bees like other people might talk about their grandchildren or pets. When we meet at one of her apiaries, she whips out her phone and scrolls through reams of photos of the worker bees - her “girls” - bustling around a honeycomb. Stopping at a macro image of one of the drones, she points out his hairy eyeballs and asks if I agree he’s cute and adorable.

Later, as she inspects the hives for things like health, signs of disease, new eggs and the queen, Sarah is chatting about different species. She describes the pantaloon bee, a solitary mining bee which uses its hirsute legs to clear its burrow, as “hairy and gorgeous”.

She makes bees sound exciting and reels off names such as the cloak and dagger bee and the rainbow bee. She describes the glorious spectrum of pollen colours: the grey of blackberry, bright red of horse chestnut, poppy’s black pollen and dandelion’s bright orange. Her description of honey flavours makes you want to try them all.

The physiology of the bee is so well thought out, says Sarah. She's done exams in microscopy and genetics and says the more you understand about bees, the more amazing they become. She tells me in captivating detail about the lifecycle and behaviour of bees, and why swarming bees are less likely to sting you. She explains how this year’s weather has been the worst for bees for 25 years.

"Beekeeping has captured my attention"

Sarah’s vague interest in beekeeping became a passion in the space of just a day. She attended a beginners’ course with the Harrogate and Ripon Beekeepers Association (HRBKA), bought by her husband for her 50th birthday. She says:

That was in 2016, and she now has 20 hives in the apiary that I visit. The average for a hobby beekeeper is three. Sarah keeps Buckfast bees because of their gentle, laid-back nature and their tendency not to swarm too much. She has another apiary in the district and, until the end of May, spent five years in a voluntary role as manager of the teaching apiaries at Harlow Carr Gardens.

So what is it about bees and beekeeping that brings out such passion in her? Part of the joy is that “there is always something more to learn.” Sarah says:

Challenging and mindful

Sarah enjoys the fact that no two days are the same and every colony has its own characteristics. She says beekeeping is a skill and she likes the challenge of interpreting what the bees are doing and why. But it also goes deeper than that. She says:

A former English teacher, Sarah now does “bee stuff” full-time. She worked as education officer for the HRBKA and is currently the schools liaison officer for the British Beekeeping Association.

She is also a trainee honey show judge working towards her master beekeeper qualification. She loves the “fantastic range of creative stuff that beekeepers do” and spent last week at the Great Yorkshire Show as a deputy chief steward in the Hives and Honey section, which she describes as “a privilege”. She says:

A gastronomic delight

Sarah’s thirst for knowledge continues, with a current focus on honey. She recently returned from a honey sommelier course in Italy, thanks mainly to sponsorship from the Yorkshire Agricultural Society. She studied unifloral honeys for nine hours a day over five days and found it fascinating. She tried honeys from sweet chestnuts and tree of heaven, which she describes as like apricots, mangoes and peaches, alongside bitter and harsh honeys from tree heathers and dandelion. She learned which honeys pair well with different wines and cheeses. She says:

And her favourite honey?

Do you have a passion that you would like to share with our readers? Contact katie@thestrrayferret.co.uk and tell us more.