A Scottish Wildlife Odyssey
By Keith Broomfield
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Dawn is compelling and often a time of great stillness, when hardly a riffle of wind brushes the high treetops, and where only the tumble of river or burn and the songs of stirring birds seep upon the consciousness. I had only just arrived at Ayr Gorge Woodlands, a few miles from Mauchline in East Ayrshire, yet had become instantly smitten by its warm, welcoming hold. The sweet aroma of garlic filled the dawn air, a pleasing and redolent odour, drawn from the heart of the soil. The garlicky smell came and went, sometimes intense, yet intermittently weakening, becoming more subtle and lightly perfumed. This natural fragrance emanated from a green-glossed covering of ramsons, or wild garlic as they are often known, that clung to a bankside by the River Ayr.
Now a Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve, Ayr Gorge Woodlands is an imposing place of towering oaks and ashes, and red sandstone cliffs that were sculpted by glacial meltwater some 10,000 years ago. It is one of the most important woodlands in Ayrshire for invertebrates, plants, fungi and bats. Robert Burns once walked here, and he later composed a poem about the gorge, along with “Highland Mary”, a local lass he courted:
That sacred hour can I forget, Can I forget the hallow’d grove, Where by the winding Ayr, we met, To live one day of parting love! (“To Mary in Heaven”, 1789)
The ramsons were not quite in flower, their white blousy blooms still tantalisingly held within their green sepals, yet heavy with intent to burst into their full glory. The plant is sometimes known as “stinking nanny”, which is a comparison I find inappropriate, as their fragrance is soothing and balm-like. Ramsons thrive in shady woods, especially by rivers and burns, and other damp margins. In Continental Europe, brown bears adore eating ramson bulbs, which is reflected in their scientific name, Allium ursinum, that is derived from the Latin ursus, meaning bear. The elongated, flat leaves are much sought after for those with a culinary disposition, and provide an aromatic garlic flavouring to salads, tasting best before the flowers appear, when they are at their most tender and verdant.
About the author
Based in Strathdevon in Clackmannanshire, Keith Broomfield is a well-known Scottish nature writer with a passion for the great outdoors. His new book A Scottish Wildlife Odyssey: In Search of Scotland’s Wild Secrets, is published by Tippermuir Books, price £9.99