Coltsfoot Rock and Bread and Cheese

One of the earliest wildflowers to bloom is coltsfoot, it grows in damp places by streams and hedgerows and the leaves and flowers have been used to treat coughs and asthma since ancient times. None of the leaves in the photo have anything to do with the coltsfoot flowers though.

Coltsfoot is easy to spot as the bright yellow flowers appear on leafless stems which are covered with a white down.

It's the shape of the leaves which give the coltsfoot its name.

They don't appear until after the flowers have gone to seed.

Does anyone else remember coltsfoot rock? It was used as a cough sweet when I was a child and it is still made by the same Lancashire firm to the original secret recipe. I haven't tasted it for years but I do remember that I liked it.

The bread and cheese part of the title refers to hawthorn leaves, mum and I always picked some of the fresh young leaves and ate them when we were out walking. I still do:) They have a lovely tangy taste.

My DH is currently in the West Indies with a couple of his friends watching cricket so I'm doing a great deal of dog walking at the moment. A few days ago B Baggins and I walked up this old hollow lane which used to be the main route between Totley and Holmsfield. It's a very ancient track indeed and for most of the year it's also very muddy. Totley was part of the parish of Dronfield until a church was built in the neighbouring village of Dore in the early nineteenth century. Prior to that time this was the coffin route to the parish church in Dronfield which is a good 4 miles!

There was lots of Dog's Mercury around - it was named for the Greek messenger of the gods but the 'Dog' part of its name indicates that it is poisonous.

The hollow lane is very sheltered and so there was quite a lot of lesser celandine in flower.

We walked up past the early 17th century Woodthorpe Hall which our history group will be visiting later this summer, I'm looking forward to seeing the inside of it.

A short way past Woodthorpe Hall the old hollow lane continues up to Holmsfield while the bottom of Fanshawgate Lane goes up to the right. A public footpath goes past the back of Fanshawegate Hall If you click on the link there is a post about this lovely old building. We walked past the duck pond.....

.....past two rather splendid hens anxious to avoid B Baggins............

.....and into the field behind the wonderful medieval Tithe Barn. You will see it more clearly if you click on the photo. It isn't very good as the sun was behind the barn and shining towards me.

You haven't seen anything yet of the other member of the party so here is B Baggins on his way down the field towards Gillfield Wood where I saw....

....the very first wood anenome of the year:)