Health & Wellbeing

Meditations in nature: Life on the edge

by Susie Curtin

I am writing this under a moody Cumbrian sky, perched on a grassy shelf looking down from the side of Helvellyn, England’s third highest peak, towards Striding Edge.

It is a typical Lakeland day with occasional bursts of sunlight amid dark rain clouds, and swirling mists that allow only brief glimpses of the waterfalls and steep-sided U-shaped valleys below.

For reasons I cannot entirely explain, dramatic landscapes like this lift my spirits like nowhere else.

Although there are skylarks, wheatear and pipits on the lower slopes, and some unique alpine flora, there is little to divert my attention away from the immensity of the mountains. I am just here in the moment on top of the world.

There are many evolutionary theories as to why we like heights, not least the fact that we can see our enemies approaching.

Having scrambled along Striding Edge and down the steep vertical seven-metre tower known as ‘The Chimney’, my feet are planted on terra firma while I just enjoy the feeling of being here in this place.

Striding Edge is an arête, a sharp ridge which was once a boundary between two parallel glaciers. It now separates two valleys and is a magnet for walkers and scramblers alike.

Although it feels remote, there is a steady flow of people following in my footsteps, one by one stumbling over this famous landmark, stopping to take in the views and to capture the moment with a photo.

What is it, I wonder, about ‘edge lands’ that are so attractive? Sat here amid the swirling clouds, it occurs to me that much of life is lived on the edge.

We exist on the brink between dreams and reality, happiness and sadness, prosperity and poverty, and life and death.

Perhaps ‘down there’ in the real world, we take too much for granted. While up here, it is indeed foolish to assume anything given the mountain’s changeability.

In the time it has taken me to scribble these notes, the rain clouds have descended. I quickly gather my things, don my waterproofs and climb to the summit of Helvellyn, before scrambling down Swirral Edge and over towards Catstye Cam, unable to see beyond a few metres.

That is until I descend. Then, like a miracle, the land appears swathed in a steamy, ethereal light that guides me safely

Striding Edge, the renowned ridge which flanks the south-eastern passage to Helvellyn. back to Glenridding and back to reality. Yet, in my dreams I am still up there on Striding Edge, where the ravens call and the clouds gather. Dr Susie Curtin email curtin.susanna@gmail.com

n If you love nature and enjoy creative writing, then come and join me for an inspirational day in the beautiful surroundings of Bere Marsh Farm, Blandford, Dorset DT11 0QY. The Countryside Regeneration Trust is running two writing workshops – one for adults on 16 July and one for children on 27 July. The cost is £40 for the day. For more information and to book a place, contact Elaine Spencer-White at the CRT office on 01258 860090 or email e.s.white@thecrt. co.uk A walk around…East Orchard

by Chris Slade

Here’s a short walk of a little over three miles. Park in the layby near the church. Visit it to see if it’s still standing as there was a massive crack at the south-east corner when I visited.

There’s an unusual tree, one of the quercus species, I think, in the churchyard. See if you can identify it.

Now walk south-south-west down the road for a quarter of a mile, then turn right, northwest, up a road which soon joins a B-road. Turn left and, after a short distance, southwest, join a footpath which leads south-east along the parish boundary crossing several stiles to join a road that continues in the same direction along the boundary for half a mile crossing a bridge and meeting a junction where you turn east for a short distance.

Then, at a grassy triangle in the road, turn left, north-west, passing Meads Farm and then join Church Lane heading north-east until the Tarmac runs out at Pennyclose Farm. The lane then bends left and heads north, uphill, along an unpaved road for half a mile, passing some houses then meeting a road.

Here you turn left and head west for 100 yards or so, then join a footpath heading southsouth-west, first crossing a lawn, then a field where the path branches south-west down to the church and your car. Chris Slade is a retired Dorset rights of way officer

Health & Wellbeing

Mistletoe, an ancient and pagan plant

by Fiona Chapman

By the time this article goes to press, I will have done my final exam for Herbal medicine and just have one clinic day left at college and a dissertation to hand in.

Five years over. It will be with a mixture of relief that I am not having to go up to London every week – very nice for my dogs – sadness at not seeing my classmates and excitement about starting to practice properly down here.

My dissertation has been on Mistletoe, an ancient and pagan plant that has fascinated medicine men throughout the ages. The Druids – or Oak men – revered mistletoe and thought it was a Heal All plant.

If they found it on Oak trees, it had even more special properties. They believed it was the essence of the tree – not far wrong as it is a hemi-parasitic plant and feeds off the host for most of its nutrients.

They had major ceremonies in the depth of winter, involving white bulls and robes and cut the mistletoe with a golden sickle, catching it before it touched the ground to protect its magical powers.

They used it specifically for fertility as they thought the berries looked like spermatozoa.

Ancient herbalists applied a ‘doctrine of signature’. As the plant was suspended in mid-air and defied the laws of gravity, it should be used for epilepsy.

This continued with various renowned herbalists until the 19th century and, as it calmed the nervous system, it was also used for hypertension.

Rudolf Steiner gave Mistletoe a further ‘doctrine of signatures’ saying it looked like a tumour and should be used for cancer.

Since then, there have been extensive studies on the properties of mistletoe which to précis a long dissertation has validated what these old herbalists knew by instinct, being in touch with nature and a certain amount of trial and error.

Harvesting and storing it is extremely important, as if it is old, it is rendered useless, but if used correctly it is a wonderfully powerful but gentle herb.

In the UK, it is now mainly used for high blood pressure, however in Germany and Austria, it is potentised and

The Druids – or Oak men – revered mistletoe and thought it was a Heal All plant.

used, very successfully, as an adjunct to conventional cancer treatment to stimulate the body’s own immune system, to improve quality of life and to empower the patient to free themselves from negative influences, something that is extremely important when faced with a cancer diagnosis. Fiona Chapman is a Naturopathic Herbalist who trained at the College of Naturopathic Medicine. (pellyfiona@gmail.com)

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