The Beekeepers Inn, Vittoria
The Beekeepers Inn is one of those places that just works – the live bee display, the free honey-tasting table, the shop, the antiques, and genuinely great food and coffee all rolled into one spot. The all‑day breakfast is a win, and so much of what they serve is locally sourced, including the jams, honey, and other small‑batch goodies you didn’t know you needed. The geese are a novelty worth a gander (reader’s words, not ours!). Weekends are best to book, but honestly, anytime feels right.
Why we love it
It’s local, a little quirky, and always an easy place to settle in – bees, breakkie, lunch, antiques, and a bit of country charm all in one stop. Be sure to have a wander around the grounds while you’re there; it’s half the magic!
The honey behind The Beekeepers Inn
Grant Lockwood started keeping bees at 16. Today his family keeps that same story growing at Goldfields Honey, home to The Beekeepers Inn. We asked the Lockwood family to share how it all began, and what's kept them going.
How did Goldfields Honey begin?
The Goldfields story really began with Grant Lockwood and a genuine love of bees. Grant started beekeeping at just 16 years old with Orange Bee Farms in 1975, where he learnt his craft from some of the pioneers of Australian beekeeping. Over the years he developed an incredible understanding of bees, Australian flora, climate, geography and farming.
In 1989, Grant and his wife Vicki established Goldfields at Lucknow, NSW. What began with Grant's passion and skill grew into a family business, eventually moving to Vittoria in 2011. Today, that knowledge has been passed down through the family, with the next generation continuing what Grant started.
What do you want people to understand about the work behind each jar?
There's so much more behind a jar of honey than the honey itself. With around 12,000 hives, there is an enormous amount of skill, planning, care and hard work involved in keeping our colonies healthy and productive.
Bees have a much bigger job than making honey. Through pollination, they help plants reproduce, supporting food production, plant diversity and healthy ecosystems, including the annual pollination of almonds. So, when someone picks up a jar of Goldfields Honey, we'd love them to see more than just honey. It's the product of healthy bees, skilled beekeepers, Australian flora and a natural ecosystem all working together.
What ties Goldfields Honey to this region?
Vittoria and the Central West are very much part of our identity. The Vittoria site was deliberately chosen because of its clean environment and suitability for beekeeping, honey production and queen breeding.
There is also something very special about The Beekeepers Inn. The building dates back to 1859 and was once a Cobb & Co stopping place between Bathurst and Orange. Grant and Vicki purchased the old Halfway House in 2003 and lovingly restored it, eventually creating a place where people could experience the family's honey, local produce and the history of the area.
What's the heart behind the brand?
For us, the heart of Goldfields is continuing something that means much more than simply producing honey. Grant had a genuine love for bees and beekeeping, but he also loved agriculture, business, history, tourism, community and, above all, family. When he passed away in 2017, he left behind not only a business but generations of knowledge and a way of life. Today Vicki and their four children – Jon, Mark, Claire and Sam – continue that legacy, with another generation growing up around the family businesses. That's really our why: to keep that knowledge alive, care for our bees, produce quality Australian honey, support Australian agriculture and continue building something meaningful for the generations that follow. It started with Grant's love of bees. The family has simply kept that story growing.
No heart can beat on its own. The staff that work with the Lockwood family bring their own skills from administration, honey processing, packing and beekeeping. Some born in Australia, others from all corners of the world. We share our knowledge and learn from each other every day, everyone is part of the family. The Goldfields family just simply keeps the story growing.
