Primroses in the Peaks.

Categories Thoughts, , , , , 33 Comments on Primroses in the Peaks.

I was short on ideas for my blog this weekend until yesterday when I found myself walking along the banks of a stream that runs along the field at the back of our cottage.

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There they were ‘Primroses’, and there was I, back on the banks of the Old East Grinstead Railway that ran along the end of my childhood home. My mind was suddenly awash with memories and a real sense of joy, all evoked by a simple yet delicate little yellow flower.

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Do you have anything like primroses that when sighted brings you a sense of pleasure as they whisk you back to your Childhood days? A friend was telling me the other day that Gorse bushes always make him happy as they remind him of his younger days, he always has to stop and smell them and get a waft of that coconutty, vanilla smell.  I’ve been walking around smelling gorse ever since as we are surrounded by it, and it definitely has a very pleasant aroma. Folklore says ‘you should only kiss your beloved when gorse is in flower’, luckily gorse or a close relative I’m told, tends to be in flower pretty much all year so don’t worry, kissing can continue. Phew!!

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Those primroses gave me a real spark of pleasure as they reminded me of days spent in shorts and wellies, scrambling or often slipping down one bank, across the old disused railway line, and up the bank on the other side. I can remember a time when those banks were completely covered in a pretty yellow carpet, but I can also remember them disappearing as people began to dig them up and plant them in their gardens. At least that is what I remember being told. I have many memories of picking small bunches and taking them back home to my mum, although by the time I had slipped down one bank and crawled up the other I doubt the primroses looked quite so attractive but the thought was there.

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In the old Victorian ‘Language of flowers’. the primrose symbolized ‘Young Love’ and the sense of ‘I can’t live without you’ but somehow as we get older we realize that life does go on even without those who we have held dear, and maybe that’s why primrose moments however fleeting are so special as they remind us for just a brief moment of those we have loved and lost, and help us to realize that we have moved forward and are remembering them with happiness rather than sadness.

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I couldn’t help but pick just a very small bunch of these pretty yellow flowers, just to keep those happy memories around for a while, and although much more grown up now I doubt you will be surprised that I was still in my shorts and wellies.

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Wishing everyone a happy and blessed Easter Weekend.

 

 

Love Alison x

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Published by throughrosetintedglasses54

Writer, photographer, countryside lover. chicken keeper dog lover, dreamer.

33 thoughts on “Primroses in the Peaks.”

  4. Happy Easter, my memories of childhood, surprisingly are simple dandelions, even though they are considered a weed, there were always bees and butterflies on those brilliant yellow buttons then they turned into what I call wish flowers and danced so beautifully in the breeze. Aren’t memories more lovely when they are attached to nature and the beauty she brings. 🙂

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  5. They are one of my favourite flowers too. May you have many more adventures in shorts and wellies, scrambling up and down banks of primroses. The best of adventures are in shorts and wellies!

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  6. Love, love, love the primroses and your pictures. Funny that you mentioned the Victorian tradition of attributing a definition to each flower as I am reading this wonderful book The Language of Flowers by Mandy Kirkby. Beautiful post Alison.

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  11. Beautiful post Alison. For my wife it is very much the smell of gorse that reminds her of her childhood.

    For me I’m not sure there is anything – my childhood was spent living in flats above the town centre pubs my father managed! The smell of smoke, stale beer and cellars is not something I long to experience again 🙂

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  12. Primroses remind me of going round the farm at lambing time with my dad. They were in some of the fields on bankings by streams. Lovely post. 🙂

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  14. Alison, a tender beautiful post which takes us from childhood, to love, life! Primroses are special and I too heard many had been dug up. They seem to seed themselves in our garden and we’ve blessed with many this year! Bluebells remind me of my childhood, stepping carefully around Bluebell Wood near our house, wading in the stream. Idyllic. Thank you for this gentle thoughtful post, Alison … words and images terrific and a perfect start to my day! 😀🌺

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  15. Thank you, Annika, it was certainly a lovely surprise to see them. There was also a bluebell wood that I used to visit all the time along the railway. I remember desperately trying to find a white bell among all the blue. They seem easier to find these days. I’m glad you enjoyed my post.

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  17. Dear Alison,
    thank you very much for this interesting post. I especially like that you mention folklore and symbolism.
    Wishing you a happy day
    The Fab Four of Cley
    💃🚶‍♂️👭

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  18. These are some lovely primroses you stumbled upon on your walk, and so lovely some of them made it home with you. They look very nice and cheery by the window 🙂 As a kid, walking and hiking through bushes I don’t remember seeing primroses but lots of lush green grass and tall trees. Life was so carefree back then – enjoying the shade in the summer, running around til my heart’s content. Sometimes I’d pick up a twig or branch on my walks and take it back home and leave it in the backyard to remind me of where I once walked. I was pretty imaginative back then 🙂

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