After the first few days of warm spring weather, any bluebell plants outside of the forest canopy, with full exposure to the sunlight, burst into flower. One of our favourite spots is a quiet glade in the centre of the forest, and this is often where our first bluebells of the year are found.
Always, the woodland greets us with birdsong.
Just inside the forest, in a patch of light before we duck into the shade of the trees, we see our first bluebells…
… and where the main track carries onwards, we take our own less-known route to the glade.
The hidden path in springtime is more a trail of fallen leaves, that leads up to the highest point in the forest…
… and then down into a clearing. We’re rewarded with the first bluebells of the season, not yet a carpet of blue, but it’s very special to see them just beginning to wake up.
Our eldest two boys are delighted to see their den is intact, and ready for some new alterations.
Our youngest boys love scaling the ancient rocks…
… and in the centre of the glade is our picnic stump, where we always place the snacks.
I try and remember to look upwards. In autumn we lay back on a blanket, all wrapped up in hats and scarves as the red leaves fall downwards, but today, it’s the greens and blues of April.
Then it’s back home along the forest trails. In winter, the boardwalks are needed to travel through this part of the forest without getting knee-deep in mud, but today the ground is completely dry …
… and we’re glad we made the most of the rainy winter days for river walking, as the stream beds are dried up too.
Our seven year old thinks this patch of unmarked forest looks very tempting, and we let him have an explore before it’s time to go home.
We’ll leave you with the first bluebells of 2017, waving in the breeze.
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What a beautiful spot. We’ve seen a couple of bluebells but not a sea of blue yet.
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Thanks Tara 🙂 I think for us the main show of bluebells is due next weekend … we’ll have to get up to the woodland very very early to have the forest to ourselves as this year it will fall on the Easter Bank Holiday, and the woods will be packed by 9am! x
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Lovely! And how wonderful to live so close to such a wonderful place. A nature preserve?
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Hi Laurie, thank you so much for reading. The ancient woodland was gifted to the local residents by rich benefactors in the 1940s, and is managed like a nature reserve, by a committee 🙂 Several of the large local forests have been gifted to the people, which protects them from ever being spoilt or built over.
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We have places like that in Maine. A real gift to the people and the state.
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Absolutely 🙂 x
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Amazing beauty. In spring down in Texas, it’s the search for bluebonnets, a member of the lupine family. I have only one complaint for your posts. The videos were way too short!! I could watch those all day. Cheers! ~ Shannon
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Thank you so much Sharon … it’s our first time posting videos on the blog and it’s really great feedback that they were enjoyed. I’ll keep the camera on for longer next time, I promise 🙂
I looked up Bluebonnets and they look very similar to our native bluebells – I can’t wait to see your photographs if you’re lucky enough to find them 🙂 Happy hunting x
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Forest walks are always magical, I think, but never more so than when the bluebells bloom. You captured the magic perfectly.
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Thank you! We have a little wait until it’s a true carpet of blue, but I love to spot the first ones, and know that spring is finally here 🙂
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Our native blue bells are so special it is a great shame they are being crossed with the Spanish ones, .and could be lost for ever.
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So true, every year I check that the ones in our local woodlands have tubular shaped bells, dropping to one side, and closed flowers. And I would miss the scent too, if they were to go.
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What a delightful trip you have taken us on!
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Thanks Anne, so glad you enjoyed reading x -beck
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Gorgeous photos and loving the video! My garden is full of Spanish bluebells but I love our English ones….so much more intense in colour.
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Thanks very much! … we’re going to try and get the vids a little longer (if we can keep our enthusiastic little ones hushed 🙂 )
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