Love2Walk sloe?
Sloes, originally uploaded by simonwheatley.
With the Bridgend Love2Walk Festival and the Wales Alternative Food Festival both kicking off this week, we thought we’d do something in the lead up to combine the two themes.
The Sloe Walk on Thursday evening was led by Robert Jones, that’s the ecologist and not the former Wales and British Lion Scrum Half I add! Rob is the countryside Officer in Bridgend County Borough Council and his knowledge on plants and anything related to ecology is pretty impressive to say the least, he’s also a rare breed being an Ecologist with a sense of humour (though his jokes are sometimes not as memorable as his expertise). We were in for a good night though (hopefully with some gin!) and we weren’t disappointed. Well, I was disappointed at the lack of gin at the end of the walk, but not with the lack of sloes.
I hadn’t really walked around Bedford Park near Bridgend before, I had visited the Ironworks but not actually ventured further afield around the circular walk. It takes in part of the former Dyffryn-Llynfi railway line that must have served the docks in Porthcawl and Cardiff with coal from the Valleys. What a beautiful walk it presents us with today. There is one stretch in particular where the trees lining the route form a perfect archway in a straight line for about half a mile. Worth going to just to see that.
Anyway, Rob was a gem. He pointed out loads of edible plants and poisonous ones too that we should avoid obviously. Some were even too similar to call, so you have to be cautious and know what you’re doing, or take Rob with you! But Rob made it all very entertaining by bolting on the odd story or historical anecdote at nearly every stop that made this walk one of the most enjoyable I’ve been on for a while.
So, about the sloes. Yes, there were sloes in abundance but were they right for picking? A great debate ensued but even a bigger one surrounding the best recipe for sloe gin. I was amongst some experts that’s for sure but as for myself, I’m quite good at drinking the stuff and that’s about it.
Some recipies for Sloe Gin and other wild foods can be found at the following links:
http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/ancient/wild-food-guide.php http://www.sloe.biz/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/sloegin_7722
Please remember there are old wild flood pickers and bold wild food pickers but no old and bold wild food pickers. If you have any doubts whatsoever about your identification of a wild plant or mushroom, don’t eat it!
A very Sloe Walk…..just add Gin.
Text book technique, originally uploaded by The Travelling Bum – NEED TO CATCH UP!.
With the Wales Alternative Food Festival kicking off for two days on Friday 30th September and the Bridgend Love2Walk Festival starting on Saturday 1st October, we thought we’d do something in the lead up to combine the two themes. So here’s a food related walk that you may be interested in later this week.
This Thursday (22nd September 2011), from Bedford Park near Bridgend at 6pm, one of our colleagues Robert Jones (not the former Wales and British Lion scrum half!) will be leading a stroll through the park showing us some of the food on offer in our own natural environment. We’ll be looking for sloes in particular and at the end of the walk about 7.30pm, Rob will be showing us how to make sloe gin, all in good time for Christmas.
We will be meeting at the Bedford Park car park and mainly walking on surfaced paths, but please wear stout footwear and bring a waterproof, just in case!
Any queries at all, please ring Rob on 01656 815333 or email him at robert.jones@bridgend.gov.uk. See you there.
