£31.50 (Non JG member)
Overview
(Home of the Great British Bake Off!) The greek name for snowdrops is GALANTHUS, (gala = milk, anthos = flower) and there are now more than 200 species. The Galanthus Nivalis display at Welford Park is in a beech wood covering approximately 5 acres alongside the River Lambourn. In the formal gardens to the South of the Queen Anne House you can view some of the rarer species from Lord Monostictus, Green Tips, Lady Elphinstone, John Gray, Hippolyta, Desdomena, Virdipice, Collosus, Woronowii, S. Arnott, Brenda Troyle and many more. Snowdrops are nearly always found in abbey ruins and graveyards and were planted by Norman monks as a symbol of purity and the cleansing of the earth after winter. Some of the greatest snowdrop displays in England were all originally monastic sites ie Walsingham Abbey, Hodsock Priory, Anglesey Abbey and Welford Park. We think the snowdrops here at Welford Park were planted by the Norman monks to decorate their Church for the feast of Candlemas, and also for medicinal use. The monks harvested snowdrops and used to rub them on the temple of people suffering from “mal au tete”. Close to the snowdrop woods we have also found wild aconitum, petasites and mistletoe all of which have strong healing properties. Time for lunch in Newbury before our visit. The high street is a traffic free zone with plenty of places to eat