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NEW all-day attraction opening April 2019!

20th March 2019

Categories: Visitor News

There’s a buzz in the air as popular attraction Quince Honey Farm is on the move to a brand-new purpose-built site just off the A361 Link Road, with the opening weekend scheduled for Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th April. The new venue can be found at Aller Cross near South Molton, Devon. The current site is still in use, with the farm shop open as usual, but visitors wanting to see the bees, will have to wait until the new site opens at the beginning of April.

Quince Honey Farm is a family run business which was first established in 1949 by George Wallace with two hives of bees. It is one of Britain’s leading honey farms and is now run by George’s son Paddy, his wife Jean and their son, Ian with a team of hardworking, dedicated staff.

The new site will have a sweeping driveway that will take visitors past the wild-flower meadows and fruit orchard down into the main complex. The buildings will be spaced around a large hexagonal central garden, with the new light and bright Visitor’s Centre being the first port of call.

The main entrance, will house the Farm Shop, which will continue selling their range of seasonal honeys, beeswax items and gifts, and the Restaurant that will serve up delicious homemade dishes, drinks and special honey cream teas with views out to the gardens and woodland.

One of the main attractions at the new site will be The Honey Factory which promises to be an educational, memorable and interesting area to visit. It features a large ‘Products of the Hive’ exhibition and viewing windows into the honey production area. A behind-the-scenes guided tour will also be offered, enabling visitors to get a close-up look at how honey is extracted from the hive and then bottled in jars ready to sell in the shop.

The Play Hive Adventure Park will see the return of the ever-popular indoor soft play area, improved at the new site with an extension and more seating for parents. It also features an attractive lake and large outdoor play area, creating a fantastic space for children and families to enjoy together.

Quince Honey Farm’s well attended daily activity programme will return, including beekeeping demonstrations and taster sessions, candle rolling and critter encounters, plus new activities such as a beekeeping tour and garden trails will be introduced, making the most of the new surroundings. The centre piece for the new attraction will be beautifully landscaped hexagonal gardens that can be explored and enjoyed all year round. Here visitors can take in the wonderful display of colours and textures, with seasonal planting and unique features such as dry stone walling and willow structures. The Quince Honey Farm team are passionate about bees and the role pollinators play in our eco-system, and the only stipulation for the new gardens is that all planting should be bee-friendly. It means that it will have an exciting place in the natural world, as it will become the first known gardens and woodland in the UK planted specifically for bees.

Plans are also afoot to create a bespoke, eye-catching building to house the unique BeeWorld Exhibition and Beekeeping Museum. The special launch weekend takes place on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th April, and from then it will be open seven days a week.