Roman Temple - History beneath our feet.

This quiet field at West Hill near Uley conceals the remains of a Roman temple to the god Mercury findings from which are in the British Museum. It lies just across the road from the much earlier neolithic tumulus of Hetty Peglars Tump reminding us that many generations before us have enjoyed these Cotswold Hills.

You can read a little more here.

Mole Hills

There does not seem to be much activity above ground on these cold wintery days but the moles are still busy pushing up molehills in fields and gardens.
We don't think we have ever seen so many molehills in the fields!

Winter Sun in the Woods

 Bright winter sunshine shines through the trees with no leaves to shade the ground and spring flowers such as these bluebells are starting to push up through the leaf litter in a rush to flower before the leaf canopy shuts out the sun's rays.

Snowdrops

Despite the misty grey day, our trip to Newark Park was very enjoyable and the drifts of Snowdrops were at their peak.
Galanthus or Snowdrops are a native of Europe and were said to have been brought here by the Romans but may have not have been introduced until much later. Twenty species snowdrop have been identified and we are lucky to have quite a few different ones in our woodland garden but were tempted to buy a pot of one of the larger varieties on sale.

Witch Hazel

One of the joys of early spring is the sight of the unusual blossom of  Hamamelis Mollis or Chinese Witch Hazel which was introduced to England in 1879 as an ornamental tree.

Scarlet Elf Cup

This bright red fungus is unmissable on dead wood from late winter to early spring as the brilliant colour contrasts with everything else on the woodland floor.
It is easy to see where the name comes from as it looks like a cup an elf could have discarded.
We have two reference books,one says it is poisonous and the other says edible but it doesn't look very appetising so we will not be trying it!

Snowdrops and Aconites

It feels like spring is nearly here now that Winter Aconites and Snowdrops are in bloom in gardens and woodland.