The Skep

My journey stone is a 'skep’, the name for a straw beehive.

Grandfather always had bees living on his half acre in Ireland. Each summer when I went home to stay with Granny and Grandfather I was instructed to go to the bottom of the garden to tell the bees all my news. As a small child I had watched fascinated as Grandfather lifted the hive lid checking all was well with the bees, so using my 8-year-old logic I established that’s what I should do as I reckoned they might not hear me through the lid! So I lifted the lid, had a look over the top frames and chatted for a few moments. On reflection I now appreciate it wasn’t the most sensible thing to do, but as it was probably the middle of a warm sunny day no harm was done to me or the bees. It also has meant I grew up to never been scared of them. Now I have bees at the top of my garden and regularly go up to chat with them. We don’t get much early blossom honey here as spring comes late to the Cairngorms but what we do get is truly precious – wonderful Heather Honey, all thanks to Apis Mellifera.