Grass of Parnassus.

During the afternoon I decided to nip up to the reserve and see if I could remember what I had learned during the training yesterday.  It was also a good way of getting some exercise.

One of the stars of the reserve if Grass of Parnassus.  Not actually a grass as it has a flower.   The flower is the official flower of Cumbria and also Sutherland in Scotland.  It featured in the Cumberland badge:  Three grass of Parnassus flowers on a green back ground and below wavy lines of blue and white signifying the Lakes rivers and sea.

In 2012 an official flag for Cumbria was registered using the same design.  The design has been changed slightly and the background green (which represents the fields and fells) has been changed to match the green in the Welsh Flag.  This gives an extra layer of symbolism as Cumberland is said to have originated from Cymru land or land of the welsh.  Probably dating back to when the west (cornwall, wales Cumberland etc ) were a celtic nation.