If the pomp and circumstance and all the red, white and blue this weekend is not for you, perhaps a quieter, more reflective time with lots of just blue – bluebells – might be a better way to spend the Coronation weekend.
Bluebells are at their best now, blooming in woods across the south-east, and there couldn’t be a better time to witness a truly wonderful sight. The Woodland Trust has come up with a list of some of its top bluebell woods to visit over the bank holiday weekend.
Many of the country’s largest woodland conservation charity’s 1,000 woods are a lavender haze of delicate bluebells at this time of year, and the Trust’s citizen science database Nature’s Calendar shows that this weekend could well be prime bluebell time in your local wood.
“Our woods are glorious at any time of year, but spring bluebells really are a crowning glory and an experience not to be missed” said the Woodland Trust’s Kate Lewthwaite.
Blue beauties: but the Woodland Trust asks that you admire from afar (or at least the foot path)
“Our Nature’s Calendar records for this spring tell us that in many parts of the UK bluebells are now in bloom and what better way to celebrate the King’s coronation than to get into the great outdoors and visit this quintessentially British sight in our woods!
“The violet glow of a bluebell site is an incredible spectacle here in the British Isles and a very precious one too – they’re often associated with ancient woodland and in combination with other species can act as an ancient woodland indicator plant. Hence If you spot it while out exploring, it could be a sign you are standing in a rare and special habitat.
“They’re also very important for wildlife too – woodland butterflies, bees and hoverflies all feed on their nectar.
“If out and about this weekend though, do remember that while the bluebell is still common throughout Britain, it is under threat locally from habitat destruction, hybridisation with non-native bluebells and the illegal trade of wild-collected bulbs.
Stay on the path: the Woodland Trust is trying to protect the ecology
“Bluebells can take years to recover from the damage caused by trampling, and if their leaves are crushed, they can be weakened.”
The Trust is appealing for visitors to its bluebell woods to enjoy their natural splendour, while being careful not to destroy any flowers by sticking to proper paths and keeping dogs on leads.
Here’s some of the best bluebell woods the Woodland Trust has to offer:
- Denge & Pennypot Wood
- Dering Wood, Pluckley, Kent
- Harpsden & Peveril Woods
- Hucking Estate, Hollingbourne, Kent
- Hurst Wood, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
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