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Post by Ann on Jul 6, 2003 22:49:13 GMT
Jen and I took ourselves off into the Northumbrian countryside this afternoon. 70 years ago my Dad used to go camping at Rothbury with his cousins and they would go and pick bilberries on a nearby hillside for their tea. The "Bilberry Hill" is still there, and still full of bilberries. Jen and I were all on our own and able to enjoy the peace and tranquillity and the lovely scenery. It's reassuring to know that some things stay the same in this ever changing world. The way to the hill is up a narrow pathway and over a stile. That's Jen sitting on the stile with the path behind her.  On the other side of the stile is the Bilberry Hill. (Not one of my better pictures!)  This is the main path up the Bilberry Hill. You see a few hill walkers coming along it, but that's about it.  This is a view from the Bilberry Hill. Unfortunately, although it was warm, it was cloudy, so it doesn't really do it justice.  The bilberry plants grow close to the ground and the best fruit tends to hide under the leaves, so picking it is a slow process. I'd been picking solidly for a good half an hour when I took this picture. If you look carefully, you can see a few berries on the plants.  Me hard at work!  Jen's found a good spot.  |
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Post by Chris on Jul 6, 2003 22:58:35 GMT
Oh but aren't those bilberries worth the labour Ann?
Absolutely scrummy in pies!
Used to pick them when I was a child on walks over the moors outside Sheffield, funny the things you remember clearly from childhood.
Chris
PS. I can see I'm going to have to take a closer look at your part of the world, the scenery is beautiful.
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Post by Lesley on Jul 7, 2003 2:02:52 GMT
bilberry? i looked in the dictionary - small edible dark blue berry... and your excellent photos; are they like or the same as canadian blue berries? you know this is going to drive me crazy. they sure look the same. the berries grow quite large in northern ontario (my hometown area) we went as children - usually forced by the parents - but enjoyed ourselves and ate far too many once they got us there. lesley p.s. who are the two school girls posing on the gate?  |
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Post by Ann on Jul 7, 2003 12:37:05 GMT
Chris,
Yes they are. When you first arrive, you can't see any fruit at all, but once you get your eye in, it becomes addictive! Plus it's so beautiful up there.
The north east surprises a lot of first time visitors. We have beautiful beaches and some lovely countryside. The only things we don't have are mountains and good weather!
Lesley,
There are lots of people in the UK who've never heard of bilberries either, although most of the supermarkets here carry imported blueberries nowadays.
Bilberries are like small blueberries. They look and taste the same, but are about half the size. As you can see from the pics, bilberry plants grow close to the ground, even the tallest ones are only about a foot high. I have a couple of blueberry bushes in my garden and they're like shrubs. They're about 4 feet high. I get fruit on them each year, but never get the chance to do anything with it as the birds always get there before me.
When you picked them as a child, did you come home covered in purple juice? We managed to avoid the purple hands this time by taking some very thin rubber gloves with us. You can just about see them on the stile pics.
After your ps, you've become my friend for life!
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Post by Lesley on Jul 7, 2003 23:50:17 GMT
ann, we were very much purple after picking. like any berries fresh are always better than imports (we just bought some local strawberries and raspberries that are just perfect).
i did try growing blueberries - even tried covering them with netting - the birds won out!
bilberries sound just as good. i wonder if they are easy to grow.
lesley
p.s. aren't we all really schoolgirls at heart?
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Post by Linda_Wells on Jul 8, 2003 0:04:08 GMT
So now I want some bilberry plants for the allotment. I've never seen any.
Waaah!
Linda
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Post by Maria on Jul 11, 2003 23:31:11 GMT
Ann, the place looks like a really beautiful and peaceful spot. I love the colour of the bilberries, the photo has really brought out the purple/blue of the berries . I don't think I have ever picked bilberries, but your post did remind me of blackberry picking as a youngster. We used to get them from the roadside in country lanes (probably full of dust and lead from care fumes, but a happy memory nonetheless). Lesley - yes, I think we are all schoolgirls at heart. They say men are really boys at heart, so why shouldn't we remain girls sometimes!  Maria |
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Post by Ann on Jul 12, 2003 11:48:54 GMT
Maria,
I think it's going to be a good year for blackberries here. Part of the path to the bilberry hill is flanked by blackberry bushes and they were absolutely full of flowers.
I haven't been along the footpath opposite my house for a while, but there are lots of blackberry bushes there too. When making your own wine was fashionable, there was one particular autumn when there were practically traffic jams along there as so many people were out with their pots harvesting blackberries, elderberries and rosehips.
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Post by Ann on Aug 18, 2006 12:02:49 GMT
Just reporting that the Bilberry Hill is still there and still has plenty of bilberries! The one trip I made last year ended up with Jen and I as two drowned rats. The heavens opened just as we reached the stile and we didn't even get as far as the field itself. This year I've been luckier and a trip with my neighbour earlier in the week proved very fruitful! Even better, the heavy showers waited until we were in the car and heading home before they unleashed themselves.
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Post by gill on Oct 11, 2006 9:10:19 GMT
That looks like a really lovely place for a walk Ann - I may just pop over that way in the near future  I haven't yet got around to exploring the Simonside Hills around Rothbury - I've always tended to stick to the heavenly coastline! I fully intend to get out more over the coming weeks/months though so perhaps I should suss out how the camera works and get a few pics taken to show you all our 'Hidden Secret' A lot of folks don't realise JUST how gorgeous Northumberland really is Working in Alnwick I get a lot of visitors to our shop who are there for the Alnwick Garden and that's it!!!  I'll give them directions but often feel like saying ''You want to go here...or here....and here's absolutely divine!!!'' ;D I HAVE with a couple of folks in the past and they've came back to our shop a few days later and actually thanked me for telling them where to go! It's lovely to feel appreciated LOL Perhaps I should work across the other side of the road at the Tourist Info Centre! I think there are lovely places wherever you live - all you need to do is get away from the crowds The Lake District especially is like this - towns and villages overrun with tourists milling around the shops yet if you just go slightly up the hills you have the place to yourselves! |
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Post by willow01 on Aug 19, 2007 19:21:59 GMT
hi Ann it's Bethany just to say thankyou for the yummy bilberry pies you made. lucky mum hadn't eaten them! ;D we looked at the pictures of you billberry picking and it seems a nice place. love Bethany |
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Post by Ann on Aug 19, 2007 21:08:53 GMT
Hi Bethany,
I'm glad you enjoyed them. I've been up on the bilberry hill twice this year now. I was there on Friday (2 days ago) and just managed to collect a pot full when it started to rain and we had to get back to the car.
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I haven't yet got around to exploring the Simonside Hills around Rothbury - I've always tended to stick to the heavenly coastline! 
I'll give them directions but often feel like saying ''You want to go here...or here....and here's absolutely divine!!!'' ;D I HAVE with a couple of folks in the past and they've came back to our shop a few days later and actually thanked me for telling them where to go!