Every year I talk a walk through the bluebell wood nearby, risking life and limb on treacherously steep slopes to bring you pictures of a classic English flower. Here is this year's offering - these photos were taken in superfine detail and are best viewed by clicking on them.The flowers are just starting, but the scent is heavenly. Elsewhere, Lesser Celandines cover the banks in yellow flowers (below).
The bluebell wood looks entirely natural in these pictures, but looks are deceiving. A small triangle of land was cut off between the railway line (built in the 19th century) and the river. The upper stretches contain the bluebells, the lower area contained a mill which was demolished 40 years ago or so. Like much of the area round here, it has been colonised by Himalayan Balsam (which is just visible in some pictures) and Japanese Knotweed.
However, the bluebells carry on regardless. In a month this area will be dark under a dense canopy of trees.
I came across these forget-me-nots, one of my favourite flowers and really beautiful close up.
The bluebell wood looks entirely natural in these pictures, but looks are deceiving. A small triangle of land was cut off between the railway line (built in the 19th century) and the river. The upper stretches contain the bluebells, the lower area contained a mill which was demolished 40 years ago or so. Like much of the area round here, it has been colonised by Himalayan Balsam (which is just visible in some pictures) and Japanese Knotweed.
However, the bluebells carry on regardless. In a month this area will be dark under a dense canopy of trees.
I came across these forget-me-nots, one of my favourite flowers and really beautiful close up.
And here you can see the bracken, which is also a major plant in this woodland. It's really hard to capture bluebells in photos, they're such delicate things, so I recommend a visit to a bluebell wood if you can. Of course, that may be difficult for some of my American readers, sorry!
