A walk today of around three and a half miles for F. from Millendreath, seen above, to Seaton, and seven miles for me (somebody had to go back and get the car!). Plenty of gorse in flower but according to the excellent iwalkcornwall site…..Gorse, also known as furze, is present as two species (Common Gorse and Western Gorse) along the Atlantic coast. Between the species, some gorse is almost always in flower, hence the old country phrases: “when gorse is out of blossom, kissing’s out of fashion” (which is recorded from the mid-19th century) and “when the furze is in bloom, my love’s in tune” (which dates from the mid-18th century). Gorse flowers are edible and can be used in salads and to make a tea, beer or wine.’ and here is the old recipe for furze wine….’Gorse flower wine can be made using 5 litres of gorse flowers stripped from the stems and simmering these in 5 litres of boiling water. Once the flowers are removed, 1.3kg of sugar should be dissolved in the hot water and allowed to cool to room temperature. Then add 500g of chopped raisins and juice and zest of 2 lemons and ferment with white wine yeast and yeast nutrient. Although flowers are present year-round, they are best picked in Spring (April and May) when they are most profuse and fragrant’.

What a glorious day for January…let’s hope for many more!