Despite it being April, it still feels as though we are in the throws of winter. The rain is lashing, wind howling and the temperatures remain relentlessly & unseasonably low. While we’re patiently waiting for the arrival of warmer and brighter days, I’m looking back to a crisp dry morning in February at Shalstone.
Despite leaving only miles from the village of Shalstone for many years I’ve never had the need to visit, this was immediately put right once a friend mentioned that the church was surrounded by a wonderful carpet of snowdrops – and what a sight to behold!
Snowdrops for me are the harbinger of spring and a walk through a blanket of snowdrops is a seasonal pleasure. The species has long been associated with the winter and the Latin name, Galanthus nivalis, literally translates as ‘milk flower of the snow’. Between this year’s intermittent snow storms tiny snowdrops have awoken from their sleep forming a sea whiter than foam.
The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin and means ‘farm by a shallow stream’.
The church is dedicated to Edward the Confessor and was almost entirely reconstructed in 1862 by the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott. Geoffrey Purefoy, Shaltone’s Squire, ensures that the grass is mown each year when the snowdrop seeds are fat, green and fertile to ensure that they are well scattered.
The fine Yew hedge to the left, which frames your walk along the path to the churchyard’s entrance, is as fine as any in Bucks.
The serenity of this peaceful place is matched by the monochrome display of winter bulbs and the dappled lichen covered gravestones, provide further interest. British churchyards are often the only habitat where many species are recorded and are very important for lichen conservation.
The village itself is endlessly charming and well deserving of further exploration in warmer climes. If they ever arrive that is!
An Arcadian Idyll 