When I’m driving to Cheltenham over the Cotswolds I am always drawn to this burial mound up on a ridge at Notgrove.
It is close to a large lay-by and the cars scream by at 60 mph .Surprisingly a short walk and through a wooden gate and you are totally transported to an area of peace and charm.
The mound is a chambered burial mound but has been back filled. It is a strangely haunting place . Sitting on the mound with the scents of the grass and plants and the racing clouds above you is re-charging . I like the feeling of this ancient place. As the Spring continues the grassy mounds will become covered in flowers. Today tiny cowslips are starting to decorate the slopes. Some of them really tiny and others seeming to stretch up high.
Cowslips (Primula Veris) are meadow plants cowslip means cow slop as in cow pats with reference to their meadow habitat.
Cowslips are the county flower of Northamptonshire, Worcestershire and Surrey.
The scent of cowslips is similar to apricots.
The view from the mound is wonderful across the Cotswolds. Around the trunks of the trees and the base of the mound there are carpets of wild strawberries. Definitely worth a visit in a few weeks time for a snack.
NATURE TABLE EXPLORER 