• last year
An 18-year-old beekeeper is the third generation to look after a million bees on top of Scottish Parliament - which make all the wax for official seals.

Eilidh Hood has been trained by dad Stuart Hood, 56, to take care of the insects which live on the roof of Holyrood in Edinburgh.

Stuart was taught by his late father George Hood, who died aged 74 in 2010.

George was mentored by 'Scotland's greatest ever beekeeper' Willie Smith and Stuart continues caring for bees using methods Willie developed to this day.

Stuart is now inspiring the next generation of beekeepers as he's taught his daughter Eilidh, 18, the art.

She has now joined Stuart at his role at the Scottish Parliament, where he visits weekly in the summer months to check on the one million bees.

The million bees in 15 hives not only create honey but also the wax used to fill the Great Seal of Scotland which seals each Act of the Scottish Parliament.

Stuart said: "It's on going process but she's been involved in beekeeping for years now as it's not something you learn overnight.

"We've got a very diverse business and I'm not trying to just teach her about the bees but also the benefits of honey and what we can do with it.

"She's involved in every aspect of the business and has a great business mind.

"She's got strong memories of when she was around five, helping my father put honey in jars and looking after the bees.

"So she's always been around the bees."

The dad-of-one also has similar memories to Eilidh and recalled being stung by a bee when his dad was saying goodnight to him, when he was around two-years-old.

Stuart, of Ormiston, East Lothian, said: "All my first recollections are with bees - either being stung by one or being stood next to a hive when I was probably two.

"My earliest memory is life is when I was two or three and my father was kissing me goodnight and he had a bee still on his collar, which came off and stung me.

"All my other early memories of us being with the bees.

"I remember my mum driving up with my grandmother and we would have a picnic next to my dad who was working with the bees.

"Then we would go on holiday in the Lake District and we would come back in the middle of the weekend and see the bees and drive back down again.

"It was always part of my life."

Stuart took over the family business, Hoods Honey, when John passed away and they now make beauty and skincare products, fragrances and wedding favours.

But he's said that even though the business have changed, that 'traditions never change' and you need to 'always take care' of the bees first.

Stuart said: "Even though we've diversified the business, the traditions never change.
It's about the bees and that's where it all starts and all ends for us.

"My dad used to say, take care of the bees and they'll take care of you. I'm trying to say that to Eilidh.

Category

🗞
News
Transcript
00:00 Hi, I'm Stuart Hood from Hoods Honey and this is my daughter Ailey.
00:24 Ailey is now a fourth generation beekeeper here at Hoods Honey.
00:27 We're on site at the Members Garden in the Scottish Parliament where we currently have
00:31 15 of our hives.
00:34 I think we're in our eighth year of having hives here on site.
00:37 We're very, very lucky.
00:39 It's a wonderful location.
00:40 It's very sheltered, very warm and they have the wonderful 600 acres of forage right next
00:46 door in Holyrood Park.
01:01 I've been involved in beekeeping all of my life.
01:04 My earliest recollections in fact are being stung with a bee after my father kissed me
01:08 goodnight as a probably two year old and a bee came off his collar and stung me.
01:15 One of the many occasions in his life that he told me don't worry the bees won't touch
01:18 you.
01:19 Well, that's not always the case.
01:28 Tell me what it's like.
01:40 My earliest memory is also bee related.
01:44 I used to put the lids on the jars of honey for my grandfather from when I was about four
01:47 years old and I'm very proud to be a fourth generation beekeeper now and hopefully keep
01:53 this brilliant lifestyle and company going.
02:07 We live by the motto that if you're good to the bees, they'll be good to you.
02:34 It's always wise to be cautious of bees and be sensible when you're around them and see
02:37 bee hives and don't walk right up to them because they naturally protect themselves.
02:42 People are always particularly scared when they've seen a swarm of bees but that's usually
02:46 a time where they've only got one thing on their mind and they're not really interested
02:49 in people.
02:50 But bees, if you don't bother them, they really won't bother you.
02:55 So they're very, very important.
02:56 Just stay calm and let them be.

Recommended