I have a bit of news. A couple of weeks ago Drew, Tommy and I moved to Cornwall to be near family. Apologies to anyone in Ealing I didn’t manage to say goodbye to in person, in the end time seemed to rush by. Many kind-hearted people have helped me over the years since I first started coming down to the apiary and did the Ealing beginners course nearly a decade ago, back in 2008. I’ve enjoyed many a cup of tea in nice and not-so-nice weather, as you can see from the photos below. It was very sad to leave.
However, it is exciting to discover a new area, especially one so close to the beautiful briny sea. We have had an offer on a house accepted and at the moment my plan is to get bees in the spring once we are settled in. I may do a BBKA module exam meanwhile too to make sure I don’t forget everything!
We will have a little garden which I want to make as bee-friendly and generally wildlife-friendly as possible. It will be my first time having a garden of my own so I have a lot to learn. If any readers have tips for keeping bees in Cornwall, let me know. I want to join the local association here as I think that will be the best way to get some nice local bees.
Adventuresinbeeland's Blog 
Wishing you all the best in your new life in Cornwall! What a lovely move to make.
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Thank you!
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Hallo Emily, if I had the chance to live in Cornwall I would do my level best to be guided by Rodger Dewhurst of Gwenen Apiaries. I was fortunate to ‘accidentally’ meet him during a Christmas holiday in Truro in 2014. He is the writer of the paper about bees that bite the carapace and legs of varroa mites. And make sure you go with the native dark bees when you start again. Every best wish to all 3 of you with this great adventure.
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That’s very helpful, thank you. I must try to meet Rodger – perhaps also ‘accidentally’!
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Hi Emily. I used to live in Cornwall, Budock Water near Falmouth. There was a bee keeper who lived there but that was some time ago.
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Ah lovely! Falmouth would have been my first choice to live but we’ve come to Truro as it’s closer to family and better located for getting back to London quickly for work.
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Ah congratulations Emily!! Best of luck to you 🙂 🙂
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Thanks Tasha! It may be a bit of a bonkers move in many ways, but hopefully not a complete disaster!
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Congratulations on your move Emily, it’s been wonderful spending time together here in London and I look forward to hearing all your updates from Out West!
Sara x
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Thanks Sara, sorry I didn’t get to see you again before I left but I will continue to follow your news through your fab blog!
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Aw, thanks x
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Such an exciting change! Cornwall is such a beautiful part of the world that I am sure you will all be very happy there. Amelia
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Thanks Amelia! Looking forward to spotting new bees down here. I am seeing many more butterflies than in London.
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Hi Emily, well done on finally seeing sense and moving to the land of the pasty,I don’t know where you are situated,if you are down in West Cornwall join the West Cornwall Beekeepers and we may meet up ( I’m not stalking you!!) Hope the move goes well
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Ha ha thanks Alan, yes the land of pasties and cream teas, all the good stuff! I am just outside Truro so west Cornwall would probably be the nearest association 🙂
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Very best of luck, what a place to be moving to, too. Keep up the bee blog from all points West…and, apart from bees, have a think about budgeting for solar panels in that part of the world, all those hours of sunshine. I’m up in Sunderland, might have sun in the name but that’s about as far as it goes a lot of the time! All the best for the move, and enjoy the gardening!
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Thanks – lots of sunshine down here but also lots of rain! There’s a reason Cornwall is so green and lush.
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dear Emily
so sorry to hear you have moved – we shall miss you and l never got chance to say goodbye ! but of course l am pleased for you and l hope it all goes well for you and the family. Hopefully you will continue to do your blog so we can still see what you are up to .
all the very best
love Clare xx
________________________________
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I will miss you too Clare, sorry for not saying bye properly, was in denial a bit! Hope to come back to the apiary sometime. Will always remember you as the best accessorised beekeeper!
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A new adventure begins. As for the bees, no doubt you’ll have your own bees at your new home soon – yay!
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Hope so 🙂
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Hope you all enjoy the west country, Truro is an interesting place and I hope you settle in well. Did you see Country File last Sunday about black bees in Cornwall (Rame Head near the Devon border)?
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Thanks Philip – must catch up with that.
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How exciting! Good luck with the move.
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Thank you 😊
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Ah, I was so looking forward to visiting you and Emma in Ealing someday. We seem to get to England every 10 years or so, and my wife went to school in Ealing for 6 months so we always end up visiting. Ah well, someday.
Good luck in the new adventure and with the new house. Wonderful to be near family and explore a new area. Enjoy the winter planning for the spring, both bees and plants alike.
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Well, Emma is still living there and I will visit occasionally. If you tell us you’re coming maybe we can sort something out!
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Yes, Erik – do visit Ealing. My mum grew up and went to school here also, so I’d be interested to know where your wife went to school. And it will give Emily an excuse to come back and visit us all in London! 🙂
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Good for you! Leaving all the folks in Ealing must have been a bit of a wrench. But now you will be able to enjoy all creatures great and small in your garden, some lovable and some you will learn to love in time….
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Thanks. I don’t think I could bring myself to hurt even a slug so I’ll have to go for a nature-friendly rather than traditionally manicured garden.
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All the best, Emily. RH
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Thank you 🙂
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I see my original comment didn’t come through.
Anyway, from all I read and hear, you’re moving to a beautiful area. I follow this photographer who lives there:
https://cornwallphotographic.com/
Good luck and good beeing at your new location.
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Lovely photos on that blog. The sea is something I am enjoying. It has a wildness about it which is missing elsewhere in our tame and manicured landscapes. You know about moving long distances too – indeed I am sure your move beat ours by many miles but psychologically perhaps it had a similar impact.
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Yes. He just won another award for his work.
As for the sea, even though we don’t do anything involving it (swim, fish, surf, etc) it is something we look forward to seeing and will likely miss if and when we move back from the mainland.
There are some psychological aspects to our move, some positive some negative, but the bigger factor is our current state of flux. Until we settle (buy a house, have our own furniture and stuff) there’s this uneasiness. Truthfully, we occasionally embrace the freedom it gives us (even as we aren’t taking full advantage of it), but our nature is to settle into a comfortable routine and enjoy our hobbies. That aspect of life is what we’re missing right now, but like I said, it has little to do with the location or distance or the move itself and more to do with renting a furnished condo where nothing in it is ours other than a few small things.
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I can sympathise with that as we are currently staying in Drew’s parents home with most of our stuff in storage. It’s very nice here, and the garden is vast in comparison to any home I’ve ever lived in, but it’s not the same as being in our own permanent home. What is holding you up in settling, have you yet to decide where to stay long-term? (Apologies if you’ve posted about this, I’m not able to read as much as previously with Tommy around).
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Here, the weather and the availability of healthcare is giving us a pause.
Weather-wise — for example — the current forecast for the week is 89° F (32° C) daytime and 75° F (24° C) nighttime with the humidity generally between 70% and 85% . . . but, that was the forecast last week and the week before and it’s the forecast for next week and the week after that (one of the easiest places to be a weatherperson). But, that’s only the forecast and both the actual and real-feel temperatures are higher. You can mitigate the temperature by living at a higher elevation, but then you get into higher moisture and mold issues.
Also, Melisa is not fond of the geckos and many bugs. All that would be better if we had our own place, but the healthcare thing is still a concern as we age.
Our main problem right now is that we came here for lack of any other place that interested us . . . which is where we again find ourselves; we don’t know where to go. There’s nothing drawing us to any one particular place, so the problem is too many choices (although North Korea and Syria are definitively out).
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The temperature sounds like bliss to me but I do understand that not everyone likes it that way. Humid heat can be very intense. Quite unusual to have few attachments to any one place – that gives you a lot of freedom but as you say also makes choosing one place harder. How about Canada? Cooler weather, great photo taking opportunities, comes fairly high in worldwide healthcare rankings.
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But . . . but . . . there are Canadians there!
At this time, we’re not looking to leave the US. Emigration is not as easy as people think. Plus, I still have more rights here (at least for now) than I would in a foreign country.
There’s the consideration of traveling for a bit (from country to country as visitors) but there’s also the desire to have a place of permanence somewhere. We’ll work it out soon enough. Thanks for asking.
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Miss you lots already, Emily, and so do the bees!
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Awww. If only I could do teleporting! That would be my chosen superpower.
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That would be a good superpower! Although I always wondered whether the transporters (or teleporters) in Star Trek killed the original person and produced a clone at the other end. Perhaps flying a fast as a bee would be my superpower. Mmm, these exact same conversations are what I will miss beside the hive. 😉
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If we’re doing bee superpowers I would like the ability to navigate using polarised light.
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I can see that would come in handy. I would like two stomachs – one just for honey.
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