Much thought has gone into designing this long hive which is of excellent quality. The children and I are loving watching the busy bees beneath the perspex crown boards. We're lucky to have such a creative and competent hive manufacturer in the UK. It was a pleasure to meet Dean who very kindly delivered the hive, helped set up and answered the many questions I had. A***
Five years later my box has weathered to a beautiful silver. Its predecessor made of ply fell apart after a couple of years. Its only fault is that the roof is slippery and the young owlets branching out can't get a grip. Husband has covered it in felt....otherwise I would have given it five stars
Lovely looking hive and the workmanship is excellent. Dean delivered my hive and helped me set it up, answering all the questions I had about using it.
I am assured that the guys at Hyde hives are there to help in the unlikely event if a problem. Highly recommended.
First saw this at the BBKA Convention 2025, fell in love with it straight away. Week later purchased one for our club, first day in the apiary it was put to use, never looked Bach, the build is fantastic as well as the service. I would recommend this hive every time
I had my hive delivered this weekend. The hive itself is lovely. The quality of the build is great. However, the hive has an unfortunate spruce detail on either end, supporting the roof struts. When the roof is shut you can see a line of white wood between the lovely warm red cedar on either end, and when the roof is open it really is obvious.More noticeable, though, is the spruce stand. I do see that the diagram on the website stating that the stand was cedar has now been removed. At least no-one else will be as disappointed as I was.
However, the hive itself is great. I will just have to build a cedar stand to match in order to get the look that I was looking forward to .
If everything was cedar I would happily have given six stars.
A really lovely, solid hive that it is well made and so easy to use. I love the lid with struts, the clear viewing of the frames. In fact the whole set up. All along I was kept informed and they were very helpful. Delivery was essential - unless you have a BIG van. I had not appreciated how big the whole thing would be . It gets lots of admiring looks!
Hive looks beautiful and I'm expecting it to be weatherproof. Well worth paying for.
All my questions about the hive were helpfully answered with great expertise and clear enthusiasm for beekeeping which made me confident about buying the hive. The ordering was easy and I was kept up to date about the delivery. The hive looks beautiful and easy to use.
excellent product well made.
Are the queen excludes and follower boards included as portrayed in the video.
Goodness where do I begin? Wanted to start beekeeping for ages, but was very aware that there was no way that I could lift all the boxes, etc. After a bit of research, I decided upon a longhive. TBH I wanted a hive that not only gave the bees a perfect ‘home’, but also looked stunning. It was going to take pride of place in my paddock. I, by chance, discovered Hyde Hives. I was very blessed that day. My mentor uses langstroth frames so i thought it made sense to have the same. The ordering was very straightforward and I added the oiling service too. Quick personal delivery and due to being unwell was unable to meet the guys myself. However they were available to chat on email and told me to call anytime with any other beekeeping questions. I would 100% recommend this hive. It is stunning. To borrow the slogan from a certain High Street retailer, ‘ this is not just any hive, this is a Hyde Hive!’
We have recently received a beautifully made cedar wood Solitary Bee Hive. Due to the perspex removable stacking trays it is ideal for easy monitoring of bee nesting activity and larvae development. It is Safe to observe as Solitary bees are non-aggressive.
An easy way to support bees in their local ecosystems, right in your back garden!
Cannot wait to get my hive moved over... no more back breaking lifting! Its so well made and the oiling service is worth the additional cost. Great delivery and customer service!
Excellent customer service. Lots of friendly advice. Excellent craftsmanship. Beautiful hive. Less bee disturbance. What's not to like? Wish I had one of these 15 years ago!
I can't talk for the bees yet, but the hive looks beautiful and seems really well made and functional. The only reason for the 3 stars is that the stand delivered was made of Pine instead of Cedar and this was not agreed before delivery. The quality of the pine seems good but this should have been discussed. After oiling the outside of the hive the cedar takes on a lovely golden colour and the pine doesn't, it looks a mismatch. For such an ornamental hive (that's what this is in reality) these details matter and should be addressed.
Well made and great hives! Highly recommended. We are using these hives in a wheelchair accessible apiary we have built to help more of our local community get into beekeeping
We previously had a top bar hive because my wife cannot lift supers and this is 'her' hive. The top bar was great but it was difficult for my wife to inspect the comb on the bars in summer because the bar must be held perfectly horizontal or the comb can fall off - this happened once and it was enough to put us off the top bar.
This hive has frames so the honeycomb is well supported. The mesh floor with varroa boards underneath allows quick and easy varroa counts if needed. The construction is solid and you can feel how sturdy the whole hive is. Plenty of space for up to twenty brood frames in each half so lots of space for the bees to build and grow.
A great hive.
The two colonies in my long hive were installed last September and have thrived over the winter, far better than in the National hives that I have used for last 60 years. I changed because I wanted to have less lifting as I get older. The hive was comfortable to use from the onset and the two colonies settled in quickly. One colony was small, covering only 7 brood frames going into winter. It managed well through the winter and I gave it a litre of fondant in February. Both colonies are flourishing in early April - lovely clean brood frames, no chalk brood, no wax moth. I did not put on any insulation, and I was very pleased that there was no condensation. Quick checks in winter were easy - just lift the lid to see all is well.
I am looking forward to extracting honey from the National brood -size frames next month. Two challenges lie ahead. 1. Moving the long hive to a new site. I shall put the colonies to the old square National brood boxes for the journey and take the long hive separately. 2. Making an artificial swarm. Again, use the old brood boxes for the unhatched queen (just as easy as using a nucleus box. So my tip is: keep some of your old gear.
The hive exceeded my expectations! Well made, robust and the finish (oil option) is excellent. Lid opens one-handed so managing the bees should be easy, looking forward to not having to heft heacy supers. The hive is an attractive piece in its own right, furniture that begs to be shown off rather than hidden away
Also looking forward to showing my granddaughter the bees through the trransparent crown boards!
The finish is great and the hive looks rather grand in its place. All nicely set up for the new colony!f
Matt and Dean have made and delivered a most amazing long hive to me. Everything about the hive is wonderfully joinered by true mastercraftsmen. In short, a work of art and highly recommended..
I am very pleased with the quality of construction of the hive. The customer service was excellent.
Thoughtfully designed, beautifully constructed, top quality hive. Not just perfect for the bees but an object of beauty in the apiary! Quick service, delivered on the dot. Built by incredibly experienced keepers who share my love of bees!
Great quality Cedar, but went for Oiling and Waterproofing Service as well...
Top Quality job, recent Heavy Rain just ran off and looks really good, first class accommodation for my Bees!