Stories of Place April 2026 - Moving Hour

Collage by Holly Doron including photos gifted Deb McDonald, Dionne Williams, Holly Doron, Luke Hudson and Paul Burns.

Words gifted by Jo

After grounding and checking in making hour became moving hour as Nat guided around the paths nearby.

Marion guided us to notice the gentle scent of the Bluebell glades and stressed the care needed in not leaving the dedicated paths as the Bluebells are extremely sensitive to soil compaction and will be damaged.

Like Deb, Les reminded us of Honourable Harvest principles which he described as "1 for nature, 1 for me and 1 for the ground.”

He also advised caution when foraging for Wild Garlic leaves as Lords-and-Ladies grows alongside it and is very poisonous.

We foraged and tasted Rose Bay Willow leaf which Les described as a poor mans Asparagus.

The reserve includes the old planted garden of Lord Dudley’s estate which includes non-native specimens - such as the Scots Pine and Monkey Puzzle which would have been planted as an indicator of status and wealth.

Les explained that as plants die they replace them with more drought tolerant varieties from the South of England to help them survive the drier conditions caused by climate dysfunction.

We closed the evening by returning the Wardens’ base and choosing Saltwells Haggis Insect Homes to take home with us - thank you Nat, Marion and Les!

The Stories of Place on Tour Hamper left full of gifts for the archive 💞