Up a lazy river...

So, @todayslight has been talking about getting out and about a bit more, and we've been planning to go walking, so we had a little wander up the River Hiz near his home in Bedfordshire this evening. It was the golden hour, as they say in film-making, and the light made the thin strip of coppice between the river and the railway embankment seem like a path into Narnia, or an ancient grove.

I had promised to share my limited knowledge of local herbs as we walked, and on our walk, we saw:

Ground Ivy (glechoma hederacea)

This has mild antibacterial properties (it contains rosmarinic acid and terpineol), so you could drink a tea of it if you have a sore throat, cough or chest infection. It's pretty thymy and aromatic, with purple flowers.

Cow parsley (anthriscus sylvestris)

Spent quite a lot of time explaining how to distinguish this from hemlock, or conium maculatum -- the poisonous stuff that killed Socrates, not the tree. There's a lot of it around these parts, so caution is warranted. Answer: hemlock is smooth while cow parsley is hairy, and hemlock smells a bit off/unpleasant/mousy, while cow parsley smells like grass. If you are sure you can tell the difference, then early cow parsley shoots can be added to a salad!

Cleavers (gallium aparine) or, as @todayslight calls it, Sticky Willy!

This herb is a bit of a cleanser, and makes a pleasant tea. Just grab a few strands, stick them in a teapot and brew under boiling water. You can also leave them to steep in a jug of tap water for a day or two, as they are quite fibrous. They give a pleasant lemony/grassy taste to the water.

We also ate some young hawthorn (crataegus monogyna) leaves, which were introduced to me by my mother, who used to eat them (along with the other always-hungry kids on her street) during World War II, when food was rationed. We agreed they tasted nothing like bread or cheese. It must have been the kids trying to make themselves feel as if they were eating something.

Initially, @todayslight warned me that he wouldn't be able to walk more than 10 minutes. But he ended up walking for about 25-30 minutes, with a bit of a break on the bench by the river. Good for him! Hope we can do some more walks again soon 😃