Beltane: Day 6

Another day of festivities... and oh, we do have a busy weekend planned! Today we combined Beltane with Walpurgis Night for an added celebration.

Friends of Bailey’s Wood Beltane Litter-Pick

The monthly Friends of Bailey's Wood litter-pick was on today (it's the last Saturday of every month). This time, there was (of course) a Beltane theme. As well as doing the regular litter-pick, we also made Beltane story sticks as we travelled round the woods.

Quick Lunchbreak

Not exactly Beltane-themed, but it was nice to take a bit of time out after the litter-pick for a quiet lunch with Rob, before heading off to buy some important stuff for tonight's celebrations.

Walpurgisnacht Earrings

I wore my Green Man earrings for the litter-pick in the morning, but I switched them in the evening for some little silver witches in honour of Walpurgis Night.

A Visit to Heaton Park

One of the Walpurgis Night traditions that I read about and was quite taken with is visiting 'the high places'. Luckily enough, the highest place in Manchester (the Temple at Heaton Park) is just around the corner from us. We had an early evening walk, and then a bit of quiet time contemplating the view. To accompany the peace and quiet, we had a little cup of tea as well - Bonfire Toffee from Bird and Blend Tea Co. (saved from last Halloween).

Walpurgis Night Dinner

The other Walpurgis Night tradition I wanted to observe was 'gathering with loved ones' and 'making lots of noise'. So, we had an awesome and rather boisterous family dinner tonight. I brought balloons that were meant to look like flames and a Beltane-themed cake. And me and my brother created a playlist of music for the evening, which was a bit of a rollercoaster, given how different our musical tastes are!

Beltane: Day 5

It's Day 5 of our Beltane celebrations! Getting ready for a busy weekend! But first... today...

Beltane Earrings

Today's seasonal earrings were hawthorn leaves and blossoms.

Creative Writing Session

We had a lovely Springtime writing session at Castlerea Home care home today, where I do a weekly volunteering session. We were brainstorming the best bits of the season, and then writing short poems/stories inspired by these ideas.

Violet Liqueur

And finally for today... I had a cheeky Beltane drink with a friend this evening. We had a very seasonal Aber Falls Violet Liqueur!

Beltane: Day 4

Last day of our holiday, so we were busy travelling and getting settled back in at home today (plus, I had to attend a work meeting this evening). We did fit in a little bit of seasonal celebration though.

Lunch in Bakewell

We couldn't go to Bakewell without visiting the Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop, could we? We had a lovely lunch here before we headed back. I had a Derbyshire Rarebit and, of course, a Bakewell pudding (not a tart, which isn't native to Bakewell at all).

May Day

And this evening it was time for a bit of seasonal viewing for Beltane... we're watching May Day (the 2013 drama series with Sophie Okonedo and Aiden Gillen) over the next couple of days.