Herbal Walk 04/29/2011
 
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Easter Monday saw the latest  of our Herbal walks round Ramsbottom. The weather was good and we found many plants relating to Spring and the festival of Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring. Sweet cicley, dandelion and nettle were amongst some of the ancient spring tonics we found and heard about. I was able to try many of them in the field, although several, such as the Ramsons are past their best, and eating raw nettle takes a certain amount of practice not to get stung!

Look out for our next walk on the 26th June when we will be searching for aromatic herbs in the wild.

 
 
Our programme of Herbal Walks for 2011 has now been decided. Following the popular walks this year, we will be running four walks in and around Ramsbottom in the New Year. These walks will be informative and interesting, identifying local plants that have traditionally been used for medicinal purposes and discovering more about the folklore and legend of plant healing.

 The walks will vary in length, suitable for a range of abilities, and take in different aspects of this part of Lancashire’s rich countryside from woodland to riverbanks.

 More details of each walk will be published nearer the time, but for now, put these dates in your diary!

 Monday 25th April 2011 (Easter Monday) –Celebrating Eostre: Help celebrate the pagan spring festival of Eostre by looking for sacred Anglo-Saxon herbs

 Sunday 26th June 2011 – Aromatic Trail: Follow your nose as we seek out medicinal plants with a distinctive aroma.

 Sunday 21st August 2011 – Celtic Legends: In the month of the Hazel Tree, we go in search of trees and plants that were used by the Celtic Druids.

 Sunday 2nd October 2011 – Fruits and Roots: As Autumn establishes itself, we go in search of berries, fruits and roots that provide medicinal help for the coming winter.

 All walks cost £5 each and will be led by Tim Cappelli, qualified herbalist, biologist and experienced walks guide. Please check the website for updates on route details, times and meeting points. 

 
 
One of our herbalists, Tracey Humphries, has been asked to demonstrate her herbal remedy skills at this year's Manchester Science Festival.


She, and other members of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, will be running plant-based remedy making demonstrations on the Healthy People- Health Planet stand at the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry in Castlefield.


The festival runs over half-term, from the 23rd-31st October and Tracey will be on the stall on the Friday the 29th. Be sure to pop along and see her and give her your support!



 
 
Today I had the pleasure of taking a group of members from the Wigan and Leigh branch of the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT) on a herbal walk along the banks of the River Irwell. We were really lucky with the weather - despite the ominous clouds early on - and managed to find lots of plants to see along the way - too many really and we ended up slightly late for our lunch at Irwell Vale Methodist church, who had opened especially for us. It was nice to have such an interested and knowlegeable group, and I learnt a lot from them and hopefully they learnt something from me - so thanks to the lady who told me about the use of silver birch in Latvia, the person who found the St John's Wort that I missed - a big thank you to Jack for organising it and a big thank you too to Jenni at the Methodist Church for the fantastic hospitality at lunch time. You can find out more about the FHT at http://www.fht.org.uk/Homepage/ - If any other groups are interested in doing something similar, please contact us at Vitality - we'll happily cater for your group.