in addition to the above, these guys might be worth calling, we're all a friendly lot ( just all full of our own opinions :-) )
http://www.warwickshirebeekeepers.org.uk/rugbythis is for keeping honey bees, who will obviously provide you with honey, wax and pollenate any flowers/fruits you may have.
now is a good time to look at starting, the local associations generally run beginners courses about now and the bee keepering suppliers generally all have sales on at the moment ( pm me if you want a few to look at, dont thing rules and regs allow me to post direct links ).
the hardware costs about 200 a hive ( althought there are plans out there if you're the handy type ), then you'll want to get the bees too ( a colony ). sometimes you get these free, when a swarm is after somewhere to live, else you might need to buy one. I'd recommend buying from your local association, then you've got a local point of contact. I'd also recommend getting more than one colony, in case you lose one.
you're looking at about an 15 minutes a week per colony once you're up and running, then at the end of september you'll be investing some serious time if you're collecting the honey.
this site wil have plenty of pointers too,
http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/the year just gone was dreadful for beekeepers, rain and frosts as the blossoms came out so the bees got hit hard early in the year so a lot of beekeepers are having to feed their bees over the winter. over all though, for what is generally a free crop, I love my bees and I'm grateful the ladies all stay with me over the year.
best of luck, shout if needed.
Dave