Some things start with a grand plan. Happy Valley Honey started with a pint!

Back in 2008, Paul and Claire Beardmore found themselves at the Vale Inn in Bollington, talking about the local countryside they loved. The rolling Cheshire fields, the Peak District on the doorstep, the nature all around them and somewhere in that conversation, an idea took root. 

What if they kept a few bees?

What followed was a couple of hives, a lot of learning, and a growing love for beekeeping. Nobody could have predicted that those first hives would one day become 130+ colonies, making Happy Valley one of the most established family-run beekeeping businesses in Cheshire.

And today, Happy Valley Honey is still very much a family affair. 

Paul and Claire are still at the heart of it, supported by a small team who care just as much about the bees as they do. The hives sit across the towns and villages around Bollington, Kerridge, Macclesfield, and Adlington, and up into the Peak District moorlands, each one producing local Cheshire honey that reflects exactly where it comes from.

And that's something we'll never compromise on. All our honey is sustainably sourced, cold-extracted, coarsely filtered, and never blended or pasteurised. Some comes straight from our own hives. Specialist varieties like our Borage and Heather honey come from other small-scale British bee farmers who share our values. No imports, no mystery blends, just pure raw honey with a real story.

From a conversation at a local pub to over a decade of beekeeping in Cheshire, we'd say it turned out pretty well.

Here's to the bees, the Beardmores, and every jar that started with a conversation at the Vale Inn.