Thinking of going to see the Swaledale hay meadows? Go v.soon! They are looking so beautiful and you don't want to miss them before they're cut. They're stunning to gaze at within the landscape but even more beautiful when you stop, crouch low and try to identify the many wildflowers you'll find in each meadow.
Some of the flowers you can spot:
Pink/red Betony which was once regarded as a 'all-heal' poultice and infusion, and often planted in churchyards to prevent ghosts doing mischief.
Melancholy Thistle – so-called not because it’s sad but because it was historically used to prevent a form of depression called ‘melancholia’
Bird’s-foot Trefoil – also known as ‘eggs and bacon’ because of its yellow flowers and reddish buds. A more unpleasant name was ‘Granny’s toenails’! While the yellow flowers look like miniature slippers, the seed pods resemble bird’s claws.
Devil’s Bit Scabious – the name for this pretty lilac flower with its pincushion head derives from the Latin ‘scabare’ = to scratch – as it was used for treating skin conditions such as scabies. Its roots look as though they have been bitten off, according to legend, by the Devil.
Yellow rattle – at the height of summer the tiny seeds rattle in the brown pods of this flower. Yellow rattle is a particularly important plant for hay meadows as it helps to reduce the vigour of some of the most competitive plants, helping to increase the diversity of traditionally managed hay meadows.
Pignut – the stems of this delicate white flower lead to tubers or ‘nuts’. It was once a popular pastime for children to dig these up until they were warned against doing so by their parents who claimed eating pignuts would give them head lice.
Sweet vernal grass – once known as ‘chewing grass’ because it tastes of vanilla.
The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust published a lovely book called Hay Time, by Don Gamble and Tanya St. Pierre which gives more explanations of the traditions and importance of hay meadows. The best known ones are in Swaledale but you can find lovely hay meadows through out the Yorkshire Dales.