Gorse

I love spring. You get these fantastic bursts of colour that look absolutely magnificent on the landscape. The blues and violets, the bold luscious greens and, of course, the brilliant yellows. I love being on the train or up a hill, looking out at fields of rape, all flowering and glowing brightly in the sun. And I adore gorse; it’s vivid golden flowers standing out against the dark backdrop of the gorse bush.

One day, many years ago, I was walking on the South Downs Way with some friends when one of them mentioned he’d heard a piece on Radio 4 about how gorse was edible. Cue several of us marching up to a nearby gorse bush and tentatively eating bright yellow petals. As I recall it tasted a bit of lemon.

This fantastic gorse lined path isn’t on the South Downs Way, but on the Glyndŵr’s Way which I walked in 2011 and will finally start telling the tale of next week (although if you just can’t wait, there’s a book waiting for you…)

It was a delight to walk down this path on our second day of walking, a few hours from the village of Felindre. For it was spring and the colours were fantastic; all the better for the bright sun in the sky. Oh yes, I love spring. It brings out the best of the countryside. For me, there’s no finer time of the year.