At the Visitors' Centre, you can buy a drink, a snack or an ice cream, but there's lot's more on offer too. This page will soon display the full range of products on sale by The Friends. But in the meantime, here are two products sold at Paxton Pits.

Paxton Honey
Beginner bee keepers Lin and Glyn Taylor have been producing honey in quantity from their three hives in the depths of the Reserve, and it is sometimes on sale at the Visitors’ Centre. Their Paxton Reserve Honey is made by Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) gathering nectar and pollen from the Reserve. Lin and Glyn suggested, in 2004, that the Reserve might like to host the hives for their new hobby. Senior Ranger Jim Stevenson saw that, as a traditional and sustainable countryside activity, bee keeping would fit in with the traditional arable farming operation now carried out on the Reserve for the benefit of wildlife, and add a new dimension to interest in the Reserve. Since the hives would be within the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Jim had to check first with Natural England that having the bees would not compromise the Reserve’s conservation objectives.

In the first year of production, 2005, the crop was minimal. But in 2006, the bees rewarded the Taylors’ tender loving care. Glyn puts their success down to greater experience and wonderful sunshine! From the start, Lin and Glyn committed the profits of their enterprise to The Friends, through sales at the Visitors' Centre. Covering their costs only, they are ensuring that the sale of Paxton Reserve Honey is generating a significant sum for the Reserve.

The shop always sells birdfood at very competetive prices. We also have bird feeders and a small selection of books. Because we cannot yet accept credit cards, sales are cash only.