'Good Life' couple start new business selling honey made from their own bees in Milton Keynes

A ‘Good Life’ couple running their own small urban farm in the middle of MK have harvested their first batch of local honey for sale.

And they are even offering people a chance to ‘adopt’ one of their bees for as little as £1.50.

Home Farm MK is run by Adrian and Gabrielle with the aim of creating innovative ways to grow fresh food and produce in a city environment.

They are careful do this in the most sustainable way, challenging the “increasingly damaging methods of traditional farming” and working in balance with nature.

“We want to make fresh, healthy food available in any environment, meaning local produce really can be local. With our controlled environments, we are able to provide year-round local produce reducing the air miles and carbon footprint of items usually obtained ‘out of season’ in the UK,” they said.

This week saw the first batch of honey from their beehives harvested and jarred ready for sale. Price start at £6 a jar.

Some people swear that eating local honey is a cure for hayfever, but this has never been scientifically proved. However, it has been proved that honey has many other health benefits due to its high levels of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

The Home Farm honey is described as “beautifully light and floral” and offering all the benefits of pure honey with plenty of beneficial pollen, natural enzymes, amino acids, minerals and vitamins.

Meanwhile, the couple’s unique adopt a bee scheme is proving popular, with adopters given the choice of a drone, worker or a queen and presented with a special certificate.

"Each bee plays an incredibly important role in the colony from the day they are born, but we think they’re much more than a number,” they said. “Help us show the bees some appreciation by adopting and naming a bee in our growing apiary.”

Another local producer of honey is the Buckinghamshire Honey Company, whose bees are kept in various apiaries in local areas including Milton Keynes, Stoke Hammond, Great Brickhill, Stewkley and Castlethorpe.

There is also Mr Robs Honey, a small MK-based apiary with an additional line in handmade beeswax candles, balms and soaps.