About the event

Herbal cures were once the only medicine available to most of the population. 'Simples' were preparations of mostly wild-picked plants, and every competent mediaeval housewife had a basic knowledge of their making and uses. Many of these cures have found their way into modern pharmaceuticals – foxglove, for example, is still used, under its Latin name, Digitalis) in treating heart conditions. 

Having been known and used as a herbal medicine for centuries, a Shropshire doctor, William Withering, investigated and developed its use from the family recipe kept secret by an old Shropshire woman for the cure of dropsy, publishing his results in 1785. Join us on a guided walk, finding curative plants and hearing about some of the more extreme, amusing and frankly unbelievable claims once made for natural materials. You’ll never look at a common weed in the same way!