The East Yorkshire Herb Group is open to anyone who has an interest in herbs and their uses - cooks, gardeners, botanists, makers of lotions & potions, health practitioners and anyone keen to learn more about useful plants!
The group holds its meetings every two months, on the last Wednesday of the month, from 7.30 - 9.00pm at West Heslerton Village Hall (see maps below for directions). There will also be occasional weekend events including wild food foraging, herb identification walks, outings to places of interest, etc.
There will be a nominal charge each meeting of £2.00 per person to pay for the hall, refreshments, etc. As the membership grows any profit will be used to pay for guest speakers so that you don't have to listen to me burbling away all the time! If you would like to be added to our mailing list for occasional updates on what we're up to, please send me an email with EYHG in the subject line.
If you've missed any of our previous meetings you can find out what we've been up to by downloading our information sheets - just click on the menu at the top of this page.
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME FOR 2011
Wednesday 23rd February: Making Simple Salves & Oils. Tonight we'll learn how to make infused oils and salves for our home first aid kits using natural ingredients.
Wednesday 27th April: Spring hedgerow foraging - after our successful results with nature's autumn bounty we're going to explore the Spring harvest. Rachel has kindly offered to share some recipes with us, and we'll have a go at making nettle soup and elderflower cordial amongst other things. Bon appetit!
Sunday 26th June: 2pm - 4pm Herb Walk. As part of Herbal Medicine Awareness Week (19th - 26th June) we'll be identifying and learning about native medicinal plants in and around West Heslerton. This is an open meeting and everyone is welcome. Participants should be reasonably fit as we will be walking for some distance over uneven ground, and children must be accompanied by an adult. Please wear appropriate shoes! Meet outside the Dawnay Arms pub in West Heslerton (they serve Sunday lunch which you'll be able to walk off later!)
Wednesday 29th June: The Pharmacy in your Kitchen. "Let food be thy Medicine", said Hippocrates. Most of us are unaware that our kitchen cupboards contain a treasure-trove of natural medicines. Tonight we'll discuss how we can use these to treat a whole host of common ailments. We'll also talk about edible flowers and how we can use them in salads, as cake decorations, etc, and we'll learn how to make a decorative ice bowl!
Wednesday 31st August: A bit of a pot pourri this time! we'll be sharing our recipes for things to make with what looks like a bumper crop of hedgerow fruits this autumn. We'll have a go at making a few things too - hand cream, natural furniture or leather polish, herbal cough sweets etc. If you have any ideas or recipes, please bring them along.
Wednesday 26th October: The Spice Souqs of Morocco - Learn about Moroccan cooking, the production of rare argan oil, and the Moroccan hammam!
If you require any further information, do call me on 01944 728305 (if I don't answer, please leave a message with your name and telephone number so that I can call you back). Alternatively, email me at woldfarm@aol.com
How to get to West Heslerton
Location of West Heslerton Village Hall
West Heslerton is situated just off the A64 Leeds/York to Scarborough road. It’s on the right coming from York; on the left coming from Scarborough.
Turn off the A64 into West Heslerton village. The Village Hall (marked with a red cross above) is on the right, about 100yards after you pass the Dawnay Arms pub. There should be adequate space to park at the side of the road
Public transport: Coastliner buses stop at West Heslerton every hour. Last bus to Scarborough departs at 9pm; last bus to Malton/York departs at 10.30pm (timetable correct as of June 2010 but subject to change from October - you should check the Coastliner website before travelling, or call their information service on 01653 692556)
If you get lost, call me on 07711 552065
The Dawnay Arms pub serves meals and snacks until 8.30pm, and drinks until 11pm. If you don't have to rush home after our meetings, it's a great place to continue discussions!