Bluebells and Wild Garlic

April & May are the Bluebell months in Britain.   I went walking for about 3 hours in a broadleaf woodland in south Wales, and the woodland floor at the moment was covered with a spectacular blue carpet of native bluebells.  It's getting to the end of their season now, so they were starting to thin out a bit.

 Unfortunately, there is an invasive species of Spanish bluebell which is making it difficult for the common luebell to survive.  They were brought here to grow in British gardens and have been spreading aggressively ever since.  Some estimates state that up to 30% native bluebells have been hybradised with this Spanish variety, however telling the difference is easy.  A Spanish bluebell plants are straight with flowers all around the stalk.  A common or native bluebell curves or droops at the top and only has flowers on the underside.  These links will explain further -

 http://www.plantlife.org.uk/about_us/faq/bluebells/

http://visitwoods.org.uk/en/visit-woods/things-to-do/nature/pages/bluebell-factfile.aspx#.UaYjldgQNK1

Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (WCA) has made it illegal for anyone to collect or uproot native bluebells in the wild, so it;s unwise to pick them.

Bluebells are quite interesting because like many wild plants they appear in folklore and have been used in various ways throughout time. The flowers produce a sticky substance which was used to bind pages to book spines.  Since it contains starch, the glue was also used in Victorian times to stiffen ruffs and sleeves.

Here are some other interesting fact about bluebells -

Around 30 - 50% of the world’s bluebells grow in Britain (this figure varies a bit depending at which source you look at).

They take about 5 years to develop from seed to bulb, so it's not a good idea to walk amongst them, however tempting it may seem!

Bluebells are poisonous!   However, the nectar is an important food source for bees, hoverflies and butterflies.

Some bluebells are white.  This is because of a genetic mutation that means they lack the pigment that gives them their colour.

 During the Bronze Age, the glue was used attach feathers to arrows.

In Welsh, they're called Clychau'r Gog, which means Bells of the Cuckoo.  

 Bluebells are strongly associated with fairies in folklore, and are supposed to ring to beckon the fairies to their dance.   However, hearing bluebells ring is supposed to bring death to anyone who hears them!

Crossing the stream carefully along the rocks.........

 

This beautiful woodland was just covered with Wild Garlic!  It was absolutely everywhere you looked!  It's  a good indicator of an old woodland.  Wild Garlic has four-and-a-half times more sulfur than your average supermarket-bought garlic which means that it's very good for you, and it's reputed to be higher in other minerals as well.  Its sulfur compounds are bound to protein, so it's orderless after consumption as well!! 

 The leaves and flowers are edible, and are great to add to soups & salads.  Maybe one day I'll harvest some and make some Wild Garlic & Potato soup.  I couldn't collect any last time because I didn't expect to see so much Wild Garlic like this.  For now, I'll have to be content with looking at my photos. 

 

                                                

Castle Combe - Part 2

As you can tell from the pictures, this village was really quiet, and had hardly any tourists walking around (which was great).  I expected it would be really busy, as some Cotswolds places are.  It was refreshing to see a lack of giftshops.  There was a hotel/pub, a second pub (with a very grumpy landlady serving at the bar), and a little tea & cake cafe. It made it feel a lot more authentic. 

This is probably my favourite row in Castle Combe, but it's not possible to get closer to these lovely cottages because there's a gate preventing you from doing that.
 

Castle Combe - Part 1

During my day-out last week, we went to Castle Combe.  This small, quaint village was used as a film location for The War Horse.  This isn't why we visited the village though - it was just somewhere small and pretty that was close to Bath.  I don't have a clip of the village as it was used in the film, but I suppose if you've seen the film, you'll recogniose this place. 

We went walking a little up the hill where we saw a lot of wild garlic growing.  The smell it gives off when you crush the flowers is wonderful!  Anyway, here are the pictures -

The rulers of Castle Combe..........

These cats live in a house next door to the church in the village.

A few doors down, there were two small tables in front of a tiny cottage right next to the church entrance.  There was a variety of cakes on them, all of which had been home baked......chocolate fudge cake, lemon cake, and bread cake.   Behind the tables there was a sign stuck onto a door saying the cakes cost £1.50, and that this feature depended on trust (I believe the proceeds we went to the conservation of the church).  So I got out my £1.50 and pushed it through the letterbox, as directed.  I chose lemon cake which was very, very good!  Really soft and very moist with a lot of lemon flavour.  Yumm!

Twilight Park

I went to the city of Bath the other day, and decided to stop by a park in my city because all the cherry blossom trees were in bloom and looking beautiful.

The grass was covered in pink petals, like natural confetti.......