Complete the FREE Bee Trail at Notcutts this half term & earn a Kids Go free voucher to Shreks Adventure! London

I love honey and always have a jar in my cupboard for toast and waffles, to sweeten my mint tea and to make soothing hot drinks for sore throats. I cannot imagine a world without bees but as you may have heard our little buzzy friends are at risk which could have disastrous consequences for food crops worldwide.

It's really important that we sit up and take notice now and make our environment bee-friendly. Yes, you might be nervous of the stinging bum end of a bee, but you must know that they are very unlikely to sting you if you leave them to get on with their busy lives.

Bees are at real risk of dying out for a number of reasons, including the loss of their natural habitats and a decline in the number of beekeepers.

Luckily we can all do our bit to  help save these vital creatures who are an essential part of the food chain, pollinating one third of the food we eat including around 70 crops we grow in the UK alone. 

We went along to DreamWorks Tours: Shrek’s Adventure! London at the weekend to meet Barry B. Benson, the famous Bee from DreamWork’s Bee Movie, who was making his first appearance at the fun family attraction. 

He helped us learn the waggle dance that bees do to help share information about a food source. In return we taught him how to dab! (check out our very short video and please excuse the quality. The light was terrible and-basic error - I held my phone the wrong way!)

Between, 27th May – 4th June all visitors to the London attraction will ‘bee’ able to meet Barry whilst learning some fascinating facts about why bees are so important to our ecosystem.

Once guests have made their way through Far Far Away they will arrive back to a lush giant garden where Barry B. Benson has made his home for the duration of his stay.  

Surrounded by fragrant flowers and pollinating plants, guests will be able to get involved in some bee-related games as well as meeting Barry and his friends to hear more about why bees are so brilliant!

Barry will be joined by two Botanist friends who will be on hand to spread the word about pollination and how bees are an integral part of our garden, and everyday life. 

Featuring games, special effects and a dusting of bee magic, the Bee Movie experience is included in the normal ticket price but advanced booking is recommended as the experience will only run for a limited time of eight days…..buzz off to the website to guarantee your ticket!

Free-Bee Trail to Keep Kids entertained this Half Term at Notcutts

To celebrate the new Bee Movie experience at DreamWorks Tours: Shrek’s Adventure! London, Barry B. Benson and the Shrek team have joined forces with Notcutts Garden Centres across the UK to create a special bee trail so kids and parents can continue to add to their bee knowledge at their local Garden centres.

The free trail will take in fascinating bee facts and will help visitors learn more about what plants, herbs and shrubs to plant to attract bees and other wildlife to their own garden. 

The trail is free to those visiting Notcutts centres and includes a ‘Kids Go Free’ voucher to DreamWorks Tours: Shrek’s Adventure! London. 

To support the Bee activities the British Beekeepers Association are supporting the activities at both Shrek’s Adventure! London and the Notcutts Bee Trail.

George Brown the British Beekeepers Association spokesman commented:  “This is a fun and friendly way for everyone in general and younger children to learn about the importance of bees and other insects in producing such a lot of the food we eat.”

We came home and installed a beautiful bee hotel for solitary bees to stay in at the end of our garden. We will keep a close eye on it and hope to have some guests checking in soon.

Last year we found bees in our woodpile and although it was slightly inconvenient not to be able move the logs as it would have disturbed the bees, it was fascinating to watch them flying in and out, not bothering about us in the slightest. Although they were in our small garden not one us us got stung.

Don't be scared of bees, become #BeeFriendly.

Disclaimer: We went along to Shreks Adventure! London free for the purpose of gathering information for this post. Views and opinions remain honest and our own.