March is one of our favourite months of the year – as we slowly head out of the dark, cold winter and into a brighter spring, the fields and riverbanks come alive and are awash with beautiful yellow daffodils, purple crocus heads and an array of pastel-coloured tulips. At the beginning of the month we celebrate St David’s Day, with St Patrick’s Day not far behind and towards the end of the month, Mother’s Day arrives as the clocks go forward and we can start to enjoy the lighter days and evenings in the run up to Easter.
If you’re still looking for some gift inspiration for Mother’s Day, it’s promising to be a beautiful sunny day in Ross-on-Wye tomorrow and our local independent traders, as well as our Saturday market traders, have some wonderful gifts, arts, crafts and food on offer – so there’s still time to find that perfect gift.
Crowsfeet is always a great place to start if you’re looking for that perfect gift. Julie is extremely helpful and can advise you on a range of gifts to suit every price range – from special mother’s day packets of wild flower seeds, notecards and candles to floral scarves, fairylight wreaths and vintage floral boho dressing gowns.
Around the corner, on Gloucester Road, take the steps down to No 18 The Basement where Gaby will help you find something special from their selection of beautiful gifts handcrafted in Ross-on-Wye and the Forest of Dean, made from materials including ceramics, felting and weaving. You’ll find mirrors, lampshades, candles, vintage furniture, cards, vases and jugs.
Further into town and still on Gloucester Road, Lainey’s stocks a gorgeous range of clothes, accessories and handbags including a lovely range of brightly coloured tops and trousers, new in this week and perfect for spring.
Just over the road on the corner of High Street, Lalena’s Gift Emporium has a stunning range of silver jewellery, crystals and lots of ideas for Mother’s Day presents including love heart earrings, bracelets and rings.
For the chef in your family, a visit to The Cook Shop on the High Street is a must. You’ll find every conceivable piece of kitchenware inside plus a wide selection of crockery including Mother’s Day-themed English fine bone china mugs from Dunoon and a classic range of Mary Berry fine china depicting wild flowers and birds.
Next door you’ll find some lovely treats for your mum at Crossfield Creations including personalised wooden gifts, cushions, jewellery and art. This lovely picture of a hedgehog – ‘Night Visitor’ – caught our eye and is a hand coloured scraperboard original artwork by Jackie Cox. Scraperboard is a method of creating a tonal picture by scratching through a layer of black Indian ink to reveal a white chalk layer beneath – in some ways it is similar to drawing, except the white is scratched from the black.
In the middle of town, the Made in Ross gallery, upstairs at the Market House, is open all day from 10am until 4pm so pop in and have a chat with one of the artists who personally look after the gallery – they can suggest gift ideas from their huge range of jewellery, arts, crafts, photography and paintings. Just outside the Market House on the Saturday market, Flic’s Rustic Bakes will be offering their usual large selection of artisan cakes and savouries including gluten-free and vegan options plus a range of homemade preserves and some lovely Mother’s Day and Easter handcrafted greetings cards.
Head down the hill and you’ll find at broad street, an independent boutique stocking a range of clothes and accessories plus the gorgeous natural artisan range of Agnes & Cat toiletries – your mum will love the Pressed Peonies Coconut Butter Soap or the Fairy Dust bath salts in a lovely vintage-style kilner jar.
Lizzie Bunting, further down Broad Street, is also open all day tomorrow from 10am until 5pm, selling beautiful homewares, accessories and gifts plus toiletries, candles and stationery. Why not pick up something for your mum from their stunning brand new bluebell kitchen range including jugs, crockery and napkins?
If experiences are more your thing, Yat Pottery on the High Street is holding a relaxing pottery workshop at their Symonds Yat studio on Mother’s Day so why not make some memories with you mum? It could get messy but you’ll definitely have a lot of fun throwing shapes on the potter’s wheel. The Yat Pottery studio will be open on Sunday for lessons but you can also book a session on any other day if you prefer. Gift vouchers are valid for twelve months (email adam@yatpottery.com for details).