North West honey farmer gears up for the hay fever season

Bee farmer Cris Reeves is gearing up for a rush in demand for honey ahead of the start of the hay fever season.

Thousands of people swear by using raw honey as a natural remedy for streaming eyes and runny noses, saying that it has helped to ease their symptoms and transform their lives.

Crispin Reeves- Bee Farmer

The principle behind the theory is that the tiny amounts of pollen found in raw honey helps to desensitise the body - preventing a reaction to pollen in the atmosphere during spring and early summer. 

Cris, who runs Haughton Honey, based near Tarporley in Cheshire, said: “Many of our customers in the North West buy our honey because they know that the bees have made it in this country and that the honey is raw, so it still contains traces of intact pollen. 

“It doesn't matter too much if the hive that your honey comes from is on your doorstep or fifty miles away because our national flora is fairly similar across most of the country. But try and opt for multi-floral honey, which Haughton Honey is, as it will contain a good mix of pollens. 

“Thousands of people swear by taking a spoonful of honey a day, well in advance of the start of the hay fever season, as a natural remedy to the symptoms of hay fever. We’re already noticing an increase in demand and expect that to rise as we move towards early summer. The medical evidence is anecdotal at the moment, but we know for a fact that a lot of our customers buy Haughton Honey to try to ward off some of the unpleasant symptoms they suffer during the hay fever season.”

Cris launched Haughton Honey last year and already has more than 50 stockists across the North West. In Cheshire, these include The Monacle Deli in Macclesfield, The Hollies Farm Shop at Little Budworth, The Gift Shop at Chester Cathedral, Cheerbrook Farm Shop, Nantwich, and Walter Smith Fine Foods, Bridgemere Garden World near Nantwich.

Bottled at Radmore Farm, Haughton, the raw honey comes straight from the hive, is cold extracted and never pasteurised which means that it retains all of the natural enzymes and proteins that make English honey so special.

Haughton Honey is 100% natural and pure, and features traces of dandelion, chestnut, lime, blackberry, clover and other wildflowers. Five pence from the sale of every jar of Haughton Honey goes to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to help protect bumblebees, and preserve and restore their habitats. 

Cris, who has been bee-keeping for more than ten years, owns 300 hives. He is supplementing his supply of honey from apiaries around England, all run by experienced bee-keepers, and now has more than 1,600 hives in the cooperative, stretching across the North West and the Midlands, including Cheshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire.

Vegetarian friendly, Haughton Honey is available from a number of local outlets and online, priced £4.95 for a 340g jar, via www.haughtonhoney.com Five ways to get a daily dose of honeyTry one of Haughton Honey’s ideas for a spoonful of honey a day.

• Add a dollop to your morning porridge

• Pep up pancakes by drizzling honey on top

• Dress up a crumpet or toast with a layer of honey

• Bake banana bread, with honey as a glaze

• Add a dash of honey to give subtle flavour to a range of dishes like casseroles, sauces and dressings 

Visit Haughton Honey’s website for a range of recipe ideas www.haughtonhoney.com