Sounds like the Earth Trust, near Wittenham Clumps. In any case the tree
officer of South Oxfordshire District Council would have to authorise the
felling of a mature tree, so could probably advise. Andrew
From: oxnatbees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oxnatbees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On ;
Behalf Of Michael King
Sent: 10 August 2018 09:24
To: oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [oxnatbees] Re: Feral bees in Didcot
I have quizzed my wife, who also overheard the conversation, to see whether she
can remember anything else that might help identify the site
She is certain the woman worked in the 'education centre' there, and said the
tree was going to be felled because they get lots of school parties visiting.
So, one more piece in the jigsaw - we are looking for a country park with an
education centre!
Apologies again that this is all so opaque.
Happy bee hunting
Mick
On Fri, 10 Aug 2018, 09:01 Gareth John, <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
How about Mobray Fields in Didcot:
https://earthtrust.org.uk/visit-us/mowbrey-fields/ ;?
Gareth
On 10 Aug 2018, at 06:05, Will H <whanrott@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
this is rather a wild goose chase, but let us see whether the internet can
help. I found these possible country parks:
* Stonor is about 20 miles from Didcot towards Wycombe
https://www.stonor.com/discover/park-gardens/ ;
* Basildon Park is about 12 miles from Didcot near Pangbourne
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/basildon-park/features/parkland-at-basildon-park
* Greys court is about 17 miles from Didcot near Henley
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/greys-court/activities ;
* Shotover is also nearby
I couldn't find any country parks in Didcot or any nearer than 10 miles from
it. Perhaps someone can do better.
Will
On 09/08/18 22:05, Michael King wrote:
Regrettably I don't have any more details.
She was definitely associated with the park, rather than just an interested
member of the public.
I don't know the area, but I assume that there can't be many options for
country parks around Didcot? So, I thought it might perhaps be worth a couple
of phone calls to the likely candidates if anyone is interested in trying to
extract the bees - with or without a piece of tree trunk!
Good luck,
Mick
On Thu, 9 Aug 2018, 19:35 Oxnatbees, <oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Well.. there are members of the group who still have no bees after swarm season:
* Sam Acton (10 miles from Didcot)
* Liz Robinson (13 miles from Didcot)
* Sarah Pulvertaft (25 miles from Didcot)
* (Anyone else?)
Assuming someone wants them, we'd need to know more about the situation. For
example if they are 30 feet up, or behind a really thick wall of wood, they may
be too challenging to cut out. It's not clear whom to contact, do you have
other details of the woman / country park?
Paul
On 9 August 2018 at 17:14, Michael King <kingmichael845@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi,
I was helping out on the BBKA stand at Countryfile Live at Blenheim last
weekend, and overheard a conversation that might be of interest if anyone is in
the Didcot area.
In summary, a woman from a country park in Didcot was asking for advice about a
colony of wild/feral bees that are under threat at the site.
She said that the colony has been living in a hollow tree there for a long time
- I think over a decade. However, the tree is scheduled to be cut down and she
was keen to see what could be done to save the bees.
I don't think she got much joy in response to her query, so my guess is the
situation is still unresolved.
Sorry the details are a bit sketchy, I was trying to show someone how to make a
skep, so only overheard fragments of the dialogue!
Hopefully it will mean something if you know the area? And I thought I would
pass it on, in case anyone was interested in salvaging what sounds like a hardy
and we'll adapted feral colony.
Best regards
Mick King
