The National Honey Show is the biggest honey show in the world with international classes. It is a national show, an international show and a show for several counties all rolled into one, making it the biggest display of honey you are likely to see anywhere. Although called the National Honey Show, the show classes include more than just honey. All aspects of beekeeping can, and do, have a competitive side. All can enter and for some of the classes you don't even have to be a beekeeper. Anyone can visit the show. It is a very enjoyable day out.

Makeovers are fashionable at the moment and the National Honey Show, which has been going since the 1920's, was given a facelift last year. It moved away from central London and the date was brought forward from November to October half-term. The move to the more accessible new venue of the RAF Museum in Hendon with its own catering, car parking and lecture theatre proved to be a very successful relocation as non-beekeeping family members now have plenty to see and do too.

The only problem is fitting it all in. As well as looking at all the show entries and educational exhibits, there are trade stands selling a range of beekeeping bits and bobs so do remember to take your shopping list with you. Throughout each of the three days of the show there is also a full programme of lectures to be given by some of the very best speakers on a wide range of beekeeping subjects. These lectures have become a popular part of the show format and the museum's tiered theatre with seating for 200 is ideal.

Make no mistake about it, this is a big show. There are 242 classes usually attracting well over 1000 entries and it takes more than 25 judges to decide the awards. The Smallholder Shield

There are more than 70 trophies to be won but none is more fiercely fought over than the Smallholder County Challenge Shield. First awarded by Smallholder magazine in 1948, perhaps to stimulate a bit of competition between county beekeeping associations, it has been hotly contested at every National Honey Show since.

Prizes for points always add to the excitement of a show and the Smallholder Shield adds more than most. It is awarded to the county beekeeping association whose members gain the most points in the open classes. Not just a few classes though, but all the ones from 9 to 88. That means accumulating the most points from an unbelievable eighty different classes.

Apart from classes for different types of honey: runny, set, chunk, comb, heather and section there are classes for beeswax blocks, beeswax models and candles; mead and other honey fermented drinks; honey fruitcakes, loaves and biscuits; honey confectionery and other home produced products. It doesn't stop there, beekeepers are very talented people and there are yet more classes covering the wider field of bee related arts and crafts including honey label design, needlework and encaustic painting (painting with hot waxes), as well as all sorts of photography including video and DVD. There are classes for inventions and educational exhibits and even an essay.

To be awarded even one prize card at this level is an achievement. To claim the Smallholder Shield the winning county must collect as many as possible. The range of expertise required to gain the most points is enormous.

The old picture of the Shield shown here was probably taken to record the 1973 event, a particularly memorable one which is now part of show history when rivals Warwickshire and Cheshire were neck and neck. On that occasion Cheshire won, finally breaking a long run of Warwickshire dominance, and they held such a party afterwards with members providing bottles of mead and home made wines, that it has never been forgotten.

The President of Warwickshire BKA, last year's winners, will present the cups and prizes at the National this year. Whether his county will win the Smallholder Shield once more (it would be their 20th success) only time will tell. It is sure to be a fiercely contested competition once again. Only one thing is certain: The Smallholder County Challenge Shield will remain one of the ultimate beekeeping challenges.

Show details

The National Honey Show is at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, for three days from Thursday 20th October to Saturday 22nd October.

Opening Hours: Thursday 2.00pm - 6.45pm, Friday 9.30 - 6.45pm, Saturday 9.30pm - 4.50pm.

Admission is free to members of the National Honey Show. Non-members £7.00.

Accompanied children 16 years and under are admitted free.

About the RAF Museum

The RAF museum has all the facilities you would expect in a first class museum so the non-beekeepers in the family will have plenty to keep them occupied. The Milestones of Flight exhibition, for example, celebrates 100 years of powered flight from the earliest aircraft to the Eurofighter of today. If you have always wanted to try your hand on a flight simulator there is a choice of two (£2.50 per session). For more details to help you plan your day there is an excellent website at www.rafmuseum.org.uk. Entry to the museum is free.

How to get to there

The RAF Museum in Hendon is about 30 minutes from central London. It is easy to find on Grahame Park Way and is well served by public transport. Colindale Underground station, on the Edgware branch of the Northern Line, is 7 minutes walk from the museum. (Get off at Colindale not Hendon Central.) Alternatively you can use the Thameslink to Mill Hill Broadway station. The bus route 303 passes the entrance to the museum.

For motorists there will be brown tourist signs showing the way from the M25, M1, A41, A5 and the A406 (North Circular). There is free parking for 200 cars as well as coaches.

Show tips

On all three days of the show there are interesting talks in the theatre on all manner of beekeeping subjects. This is a good opportunity to listen to beekeeping experts and learn practical tips. On Friday for instance, there are six different speakers all worth listening to. The full programme of speakers can be found on the website www.honeyshow.co.uk so you may well decide to choose the day you go because there is the opportunity to hear a particular speaker.

Entries for this year's show can be made up to 21st September but some late entries can be accepted up until 30th September on payment of an additional fee.

Prize winners win gift admission tickets. Winners of Blue Ribbon awards given at other honey shows during the year will have received a free admission voucher to the National Honey Show plus a free entry to one of the open classes in the show.

Winners of Novice, Beginners, Junior and School honey classes at shows throughout the country may also have been given free admission tickets along with their prize cards.

All winners should check that their vouchers or tickets have been filled in and signed by the Show Secretary to make them valid for admission to The National.