What is Wild Gorse?

Since we started selling our soy candles, a question we’ve often been asked is “…but what is Wild Gorse?”

When we started our planning, we decided to create a clean, environmentally-friendly product, sourcing as local as possible. Coming up with just 4 different scents was a challenge, we finally opted for one fruity/zesty, one fresh, one clean and one woody or “other”.

I started to think back to times in my past where I have been influenced by certain events/scents. Like music and tastes, scents can evoke memories and trigger emotions that make us feel happy, improving our general mood and wellbeing.

One such event was on a journey to spend a long weekend at a caravan we had on Anglesey. A friend and I had an extra day to travel down and spend some time together and catch up, with the ladies joining us the next day to all spend the weekend together.

As well as walking, at the time I also enjoyed playing golf, so Phil and I decided to play at St Deiniol golf course, Bangor. Founded in 1906 and part of the James Braid circuit and a course said to be “quite challenging”.

It was one of those beautiful sunny days, calm, peaceful and a perfect day for golf, so off we set, music in the car anticipating a little friendly competition and a restful weekend.

On arrival we had our customary cup of tea or coffee and breakfast served by very friendly staff, before venturing onto the course.

It didn’t disappoint, with manicured greens, well-kept fairways and great scenery, we set off ready to break the course record. As the course progressed, the views became more and more stunning, with spectacular vistas over the mountains of Snowdonia to the south and Llandudno to the east and the sea.

It was, as promised, very challenging, with plenty of blind drives and rocky outcrops littered around the course. Being the first time we had played there, it was quite difficult to navigate our way round, but with no one pressuring us, we just took our time and enjoyed the delights of North Wales.

With the warmth from the sun increasing and the birds singing, the day was an absolute delight. As we progressed I became increasingly aware of a scent wafting through the air. It was only when an errant drive forced me to look amongst the gorse bushes that I noticed how the gorgeous scent was being released by them, an incredible mix of heady vanilla and coconut. As the heat of the sun increased, we could hear the cracking of the seed pods as they burst open.

With a vibrant yellow flower, pea-like in shape, gorse is a good source of nectar for both birds and butterflies. Its flowers are very fragrant, and can be used to brighten up salads or steeped in fruit tea. The leaves are very spiky and offer shelter and protection for birds and wildlife.

It’s strange, I can’t remember what was on our scorecards, but I’ll never forget the gorse.

Now when I smell the candle, not only does it take me back to our great day out, but reminds me of holidays, summertime in general and a precious weekend spent with good friends.

We hope you enjoy it!