Bluebell Woods
One of the pleasures of working for Woodlands.co.uk is the opportunity to enjoy some really spectacular displays of bluebells at this time of year, for example Low Orltons Copse, Kilnfield Wood and Ball Wood in Sussex are beautiful now. (You can see some pictures of these woods in the South-East section of the website.)
However, for those of us who aren’t lucky enough to own our own wood (yet!), the National Trust has selected 10 of its best bluebell woodlands across England and Northern Ireland and you can see a list of these at http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-events/w-events-buebell_walks.htm . Some also offer a downloadable wildlife walk leaflet.
The Woodland Trust website is also well worth a visit. See http://www.woodland-trust.org.uk/whatsnew/furtherinfo/bluebellmain.htm for an interactive map to find a bluebell wood near you. You can also watch them spread across the country from south to north through April and May in the “Nature’s Calendar”, and find out more about bluebells in the “Nature Notes”.
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Badgers, Beeches and Blisters
A book about the practicalities of managing your own woodland. Available free here.
2 comments so far
Mo
4 May, 2008
Everyone who is likely to own a wood probably already knows that there are 2 kinds of bluebells. The English bluebell, which is becoming rarer, and the Spanish bluebell which is an excellent garden plant but should not be planted or dumped in the wild, as it competes and hybridises with the native sort, endangering them, an is hard to erradicate.
catherine
8 May, 2008
Re Spanish & UK bluebells, the 2008 NHM Bluebell survey is available at :-
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/british-natural-history/survey-bluebells/bluebells-exploring-british-wildlife.html