EXPERT


€1.1M


LIMOGNE-EN-QUERCY, LO Beautifully renovated farmhouse in a quiet hamlet but close to a village with amenities. There’s a three-bedroom main house, two guest suites, pigeonnier, summer kitchen, pool, workshop and a large barn, all sitting in in a plot of over 90ha of land.


€149,000


VAL-D’OIRE-ET-GARTEMPE, HAUTE-VIENNE Gorgeous former school house in a peaceful hamlet yet just 4km from facilities. The property boasts three bedrooms, a covered terrace, a workshop and 1,600m2


of land. The 57m2 room, with bar and door to the garden, is ideal for entertaining. former school


€399,000


GINALS, TARN-ET-GARONNE Beautifully restored country house with three bedrooms, a large studio for guests, a covered terrace and its own stream-fed lake. Located in an idyllic spot in a hidden valley.


enjoy the bees and develop the passion for themselves.


What are your favourite honey products? Acacia honey – light, subtle and not too sweet and stays liquid for a long time. I also love making things like food wraps, lip balms and candles with the beeswax we recover from the colonies.


When buying a house in France, what is important for keeping bees? You need space to work around the hive and you need to be confident that they won’t be close enough to other people in order to minimise the risk of


anyone being stung. Putting a hive in the middle of a potager is great for pollination but not so much fun if you need to be weeding or watering in front of the hive all the time! Consider their placement on


your land and how far away the hive will be from where you keep your kit and tools. The hives need to be stable and level, irrespective of which type (there are dozens and dozens) so a steep, rocky garden is not going to work. They should be protected


from the worst of the extreme elements; frost pockets and damp are enemies as the colonies struggle to stay healthy and keep warm during


€288,900


BERGERAC, DORDOGNE Lovely two-bedroom house in a small hamlet northeast of the bustling city of Bergerac. Comes with a cosy sitting room with a log-burner, a swimming pool and two storage sheds.


the winter. It’s also believed that hive entrances should ideally be oriented towards the east (or southeast) so that the sunshine comes through the entrance to wake them up and encourage them to get foraging.


Did you choose your home with bees in mind? Absolutely! We have four acres of parkland garden planted with a wide range of meliferous plants and trees. It’s designed to give the bees as much forage as near to home and for as many months in the year as possible (there’s something for them year round). A standard beehive colony is said to need about an acre of forage to


thrive... that doesn’t all have to be on your land, of course, but it does mean if you have a smaller space, you need to think about where they will go for food and water. Our land is on a hill and there’s water towards the river for them, even in drought conditions.


Do you think beekeeping in France is easier than in the UK? Yes and no. The UK has a much more organised support and advice system for beekeepers via local associations and clubs, often overseen by the British Beekeeping Association. This countrywide network doesn’t exist in France, where beekeepers tend to be


4 FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS: March/April 202349


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