We were out and about yesterday, walking from Wilton Windmill and enjoying a different range of wild-flowers in the sunshine. To my delight, we spotted a patch of sainfoin along a field edge. So that’s another box ticked from Chapter Ten. I was on the look out for this elusive bloom after reading the blog post ‘Local Tastes’ – a family history blog that focuses on Firmin family research and ‘Finding the Wiltshire Relatives’ and which in the re-blogged article below talks about Ida Gandy’s book, and the many flavours of Wiltshire.
Sometimes you may meet a bit of sainfoin on downland verges, reminder of a time when rosy-pink fields added much to the Wiltshire landscape
I had the good fortune to taste some local honey the other day. The flavor of fireweed honey was simply marvelous. It reminded me that my Wiltshire ancestors would have eaten seasonally and locally (as we are so often urged to do). On the bright side this meant that they had access to some items that were exceptional; on the down side, this meant at times that their choices, and even their food in general was very limited. This post will explore a few of the things that have come to my attention that were notable about living in northern Wiltshire.
Fireweed brightens an alpine stream.
I recently picked up a charming book: The Heart of a Village: an Intimate History of Aldbourne, which appears to be one of several books relating to Wiltshire by Ida Gandy. Because of the wonderful details in the book this post will mention…
Fireweed brightens an alpine stream. 
Jo Hutchings - Aldbourne Archive 