Bee Wise Nature Trail

Where Education, Nature and Fun happens.

Bee Wise Nature Trail is a guided,
hands on experience in nature suitable
for all ages and abilities.

This unique garden is beautifully “wild” with a hard core pathway that meanders from area to area, lined by hedges creating intimate spaces as you explore the garden and study the informative signage information. The garden is five acres in size with four acres of that in native woodland. Surrounding you throughout will be favorite bee flowering plants, shrubs, trees and climbing bushes. The large pond at the bottom of the garden is home to frogs, newts, dragonflies, hover flies and much more and plays an important role in bio diversity. The trees and shrubs also attract many song birds and there are a few resident Buzzards that you will see overhead, gliding effortlessly on the wind currents. This is a family-friendly project that caters for families with children offering activities as nature-themed games and activities centered around bees and nature conservation.

Located in the heart of the Boyne Valley – 10 minutes’ drive from the heritage town of Trim, home to the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland built in 1173, 10 minutes’ drive from the Hill of Tara, home of the High Kings of Ireland from 600 BC to 400 AD, 10 minutes from Bective Abbey founded in 1147 by the Cistercian.

Paddy, growing up in the 70’s on a small farm, developed his interest in nature first hand. He inherited the farm when he was just 15 years old where he always grew their own vegetables, fruit, reared his own animals for their meat, milk, eggs and of course, honey, from Uncle Brian’s bee hives. In 2010 he decided to get some bees of his own and become a beekeeper.

In 2010, Paddy began his plans for a bee friendly garden encompassing some five acres from where he developed Bee Wise Nature Trails with the aim of creating an immersive experience in the natural world, particularly focusing on bees in general and their crucial role as pollinators in our ecosystems and their role in maintaining biodiversity.

Paddy’s garden development has been recognized by these coveted awards:

  • Winner of the Best Tourist Experience 2021 at the Meath Tourism and Business Awards.
  • Winner of Pride of Place 2022 – Climate Action (Small Project) and Action for Pollinators.

Paddy has planted 10,000 native trees in the garden. All bee friendly and flowering: oak, sycamore, larch, maple, Chesnutt, birch, ash, hazel, blackthorn to mention a few. The sound of the wind in the trees are therapeutic and will certainly create a relaxing atmosphere where all the worldly troubles will fade away. It was early in the morning when I visited and the call of the pheasants echoing through the woodland was so exciting. You may wonder freely throughout the woodland where you will come across bee homes, fairy homes and bird homes. He has a very interesting working bee observation hive, behind glass, where you may observe some honey bees hard at work.

The enthusiasm generated by Paddy for his garden is contagious and his endless knowledge of nature is in itself enlightening and he encourages you to ask questions and partake in this experience in nature. Paddy welcomes this as he encourages, and makes the possibilities so easy for you to do, that you build small areas in your own gardens to encourage this wildlife into your own living space. There are many informative information boards all around the garden that will help you understand with relative ease the complexity of nature in meaningful terms.

In the middle of the garden is a picnic area, surrounded by nature, with a snack bar / tea or coffee. Paddy encourages you to bring a picnic of your own on the visit.

Embrace the magical world of Paddy and the Gorman family to see nature from nature’s perspective. Take this guided experience of a 5-acre nature trail discussing the habitats, flora and fauna and lifecycles of woodland creatures. Know what it is to live like a bee, or a bug, a hedgehog, a water beetle, or a butterfly. Hear intriguing insights like how the ant breathes through his skin or how the frogs drinks through its skin!

End your walk with a tasting of a variety of fresh honey produced by Paddy’s own honey bees. The unique flavour of the honey varies widely depending on the type of flower the bee is collecting nectar from and this flower availability depends on whether its spring or summer. There are many health benefits gained from “natural and local” bee honey.

I will be returning again to this wonderful garden in August, when the flora will be in abundance and nature will be working at its best.

Just some random knowledge.

In 2017 there are 99 bee species identified in Ireland. The honey Bee, 21 species of Bumblebee and 77 Species of solitary bee.

All bees are the most important pollinator of crop and native plant species in Ireland, critical for our food production.

A honeybee’s wings beat at 190 to 200 times a second.

Homemade Bumblebee nests underground to help them in early them in Early Spring.

Relevant Contacts and Information
All Tours are by appointment as Paddy and his family provide a hands on, personal approach.
There are Open Days throughout the year.
learning about the habitats, flora and fauna, and the lifecycles of woodland creatures.
Biodiversity Talk and Walk. Approx. 1.5 hours

Bee Wise Nature Trail
Crerogue
Kilmessan
C15 X62D
Co. Meath
Ireland

+353 (0)86 3446791
paddy@beewise.ie