Days Out During Winter

February Snowdrops

Our city of Southampton in Hampshire, is famous for many wonderful and interesting things. A quick dip into the roiling waters of the web will bring out the obvious things like its two Universities or the Football Club. The Titanic gets a mention or two as does the Mayflower and the Spitfire. However, this area has been occupied since the Stone Age and still boasts substantial medieval walls, so there is a far greater depth to its history.

Jane Austen's Plaque

My wife is a big fan of Jane Austen, one of England’s most celebrated and greatest novelists and she has insisted that we visit her house. The house has been preserved as a museum and is relatively nearby, in the Hampshire village of Chawton. At times like this I enjoy wandering around saying (in an unnecessarily loud voice) things like, “Oh darling, isn’t it amazing to think that Jane Eyre actually lived here?” We once visited Agatha Christie’s house in Devon, which was fun but the children and I quickly became more interested in the Mulberry tree, covered in ripe fruit, that we discovered in the garden.

Jane Austen's Cat?

The fascinating house of the naturalist Gilbert White (1720 – 1793) is very close by, in the village of Selbourne and this has also been converted into a museum. Slightly incongruously but interesting none the less, this place also includes a display telling the heroic (completely awful) tale of Captain Oates (“I am just going outside and may be some time”) and the ill-fated expedition to the South Pole led by Scott of the Antarctic.

Heather and Reindeer Lichen

Jane Austen did spend a lot of time living in Southampton. The city was once a very fashionable Georgian spa town, back in the days when taking the waters was popular. However, these and other historical details are now lost to many folk that live here. For instance, plenty of people who live here do not realise that we also have an effective geothermal energy plant – right next door to their favourite shopping centre (West Quay). Perhaps they ought to rebuild the Lido that used to exist there and heat it for free from the subterranean hot rocks.

Catkin Season

Being on the coast, Southampton has always been known as a nautical city. Vast container ships, carrying all manner of household goods across the oceans, mix with famous fleets of liners, hovercrafts, ferries and pleasure boats. Our city is bounded by three beautiful rivers; the Test and the Itchen are chalk-rivers, rightly famous for their wildlife and trout fisheries. The Hamble on the other hand is better known as a yacht haven. All three rivers empty into Southampton Water (the Solent), which flows around the Isle of Wight and out into the English Channel.

Across the Solent from Southampton, lies the New Forest, where we frequently visit for walks, picnics, adventures and camping trips. Sherlock Holmes author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s last resting place is in Minstead church cemetery. His grave is easy to find, it is the one with a pair of pipes propped against it. According to somebody I spoke to there, the pipes occasionally get stolen but adoring fans of his writing always replace them. Conveniently, Rufus Stone, my daughter’s favourite spot, is also not far away.

Beautiful Moss

Russet, Rufus, Red, Green and Gold

We always enjoy Autumnal walks in the New Forest and one of our favourite places to visit at this time of year is Rufus Stone.

The towering Beech trees stand like sentinels, possible witnesses to the "accidental" slaying of King William the Second (Known as Rufus for his red hair) by Sir Walter Tyrell. Hunting mistakes do seem to be a common theme in medieval regicide.

We checked out the memorial plaque but we were not here for a history lesson so much as to wander amongst the mist wreathed splendour of the forest.

Every inch of the mossy, boggy landscape beneath our feet seemed turned to bronze by the falling leaves, while those remaining on the trees shimmered in the gentle wind.

A thin dappled sunlight glimmered through after our lunch time picnic, bringing an ethereal beauty to the russet and green glow. 

I don't know how many miles we walked, it must have been at least five but nobody seemed to notice the distance as we wondered at the view.

The children kept pace with us for most of the time and there was very little questioning about how far we still had to go. They were kept busy working out how to jump streams and negotiate bogs.

I think we timed it just about perfectly, both with regard to the time of year and the duration/distance of the walk because everyone still seemed deeply satisfied on our return. I even had the opportunity to gather another bag-full of Sloes.

Don't forget to put, the Urbane Forager book on your Christmas present list. 

Order your copy now!

You can buy this lovely book for your friends and family from all good book-stores or Amazon.

the Urbane Forager: Fruit and Nuts for Free

Author: Alan Gibson

ISBN: 978-1-78507-300-7

The best Urbane Forager images are now on Pinterest. Please follow & share.

Summer Summary

Hazelnuts are now starting to fall, so make like squirrels and get collecting. They come in many different shapes and sizes and only trial will tell which nuts hold the biggest kernels. I have my favourite trees but these nutritious little beauties are very common in hedges and woodland all over the UK.

Hazelnuts will keep very well in a dry place. So, if you don’t cook or eat all of them straight away, you can save some until Christmas. They will keep a lot longer than that too; I recently finished cracking my supply from last year, to make space for this year’s crop!

Apples and Pears are still ripening on the trees and they will soon be ready to pick. I have been scoping out my favourite local trees to see how well they are doing. When fruit trees supply a heavy crop one year, they tend to have a bit of a rest the following year, so it’s well worth checking before you make any plans.

In due course, we will be organising an Apple Day at Mansbridge Community Orchard. This fun annual event is likely to be held in early October.

Other things to be thinking about at this time of year include Elderberries, Sloes and Medlars, all of which are plentiful and can be converted in to an array of delightful and delicious hedgerow treats.

Blackberries and Mulberries are still very abundant at the moment and you can always freeze any that you or your children do not greedily gobble up.

Crab Apples can be processed into a great many different preserves and drinks and there are loads available for free at the moment.

As Autumn begins, It’s always worth keeping an eye on the Sweet Chestnuts. It’s far too early to collect them yet, but it’s always good to bear these magnificent trees in mind.

Frosty days might seem a long way off at the moment, but the seasons still turn and keen observation of change is a key weapon in the forager's arsenal.

a

Beautiful Beeches



Beautiful Beeches in the New Forest

 

As I mentioned in the Autumn Abridged entry, Rufus Stone is one of my favourite New Forest destinations around this time of year.



A Fallen Beech



This time we were surprised by how many green leaves and beech-masts were still clinging to the majestic trees but this only increased their splendour.

Beech Masts Drop Their Nuts In Autumn

You can eat beech nuts or use them to make oil but they are damn fiddly.

Many of the Trees Have Names and Messages Carved

A great many people have left their own marks on these great trees; almost every large trunk was festooned with names and dates. Traditional tagging I gues you could call it.



It's a Jungle Out There. Well, a Forest Anyway



It’s one of those places where you can choose to follow the tracks and paths. Or you can go off Piste a bit if you prefer, although you might find yourself trapped in a holly thicket or a boggy mire.



All Ready for Xmas

 The greeny gold of the beech was set off very nicely by the holly, which was loaded with berries, another potential sign of an impending cold winter. We had lunch at the Sir Walter Tyrrel (he who shot Rufus) pub and could have easily eaten outdoors it was so warm.

Feed Me Now!

My daughter makes friends easily (with animals) and was going around recruiting other children to help feed her Donkey.

Very Prickly

I wandered off and found a tangled thicket of prickly crab apple trees on the common opposite the pub.

Crab Apples

Then we wandered back and I set off to photograph my favourite trees in the fading light, whilst the kids continued with various climbing and balancing challenges.

Steady On

I like it when the late afternoon shallow sun, filters through the the trees creating contrasting shades.

The Shard

There are a lot of fallen giants here, as if some catastrophic event bought them down but they all add to the etherial beauty of the place.



Shattered Beauty



Some of the trees look like pale ghosts in the thin light.

Ghost Trees

Some of them just remind me of giant squids!

The Kraken Wakes!

Autumn Abridged

When we have an Indian summer, autumn seems to be brief but beautiful. This is especially true if there has been more sunshine than rain, which turns the golden leaves into an inevitable muddy pulp.



Lots of Lovely Leaves



We always enjoy this time of year; both our children have their birthdays in this season and we all like to get outdoors for long chilly walks. A favourite place of mine is Rufus Stone in the New Forest, where towering beech trees shed their bronzed leaves on top of the ancient mossy floor. Some of these wizened trees may even have witnessed the death of King Rufus (William 2), his breast pierced by an arrow as he hunted deer near this spot.

 

Rufus Stone - Stunning Beech Trees
Just Imagine How Big That Fallen Giant Was




·         Chestnuts – Still falling in some places but the season will be short this year. Roast them in the oven or better still on an open fire. Chestnuts don’t keep well unless you freeze them. Don’t forget to slit the skins first.





Chestnuts



·         Apples – Some still on the trees. Later, more firm varieties will keep better through the winter. Store un-bruised, firm apples in a cool place like a shed or outhouse; they must be kept not touching. Wrapping them with newspaper in greengrocers boxes will suffice. Some varieties will keep through winter. Eat/cook the softer earlier fruit first. Turning them into cider preserves them well – until you drink it…



The Hedge End Hidden Orchard Apple Matrix



·         Pears – Mostly finished now. Pears do not keep as well as apples, although I still have a few which taste good. It’s normally best to bottle or stew pears – or turn them into perry.



A Bucket Full of Itchen River Pears



·         Walnuts – Last year we got 16 Kgs but we were not so lucky this year. You need to be on your toes as they tend to drop all at once and children love collecting them off the streets. They will keep well, as long as you make sure they are kept dry. Hang them in string bags or nets to allow ventilation.



Let's Get Cracking



·         Hazelnuts – We had a huge amount this year, thanks to the timely intervention of a storm. Hazelnuts keep well, if dried thoroughly and stored in a similar way to walnuts.



Nuts Oh Hazelnuts!

·         Blackberries – Lore has it that you should never pick blackberries after the feast of St. Michaelmas (29^th of September). This is because the Devil has spat on them! Apparently, when St Michael cast Lucifer down, he landed in a bramble bush, which scratched him (as they do) he was so cross that he cursed, stamped and spat on them. Traditionally you can eat a goose on this day instead and maybe stuff it with your freshly picked chestnuts.



Darn Those Brambles

·         Quince – I have included this golden apple because the kind Vicar of Swaythling Parish invited us to gather the remainder from his garden. We will be donating them to Grandma I expect, who will turn them into something tasty soon.

Quintessential Quinces

·         Sloes – Traditionally, you pick these after the first frost; so I’m saving them for my winter section. Otherwise I will have very little to talk about…

Slow Down