The gentle waves of a sea of bluebells ebbing and flowing as far as the eye can see greeted us as we waded through an ancient woodland one evening this week.
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A heady aroma wafted through the air permeating even the old mossy tree stumps that lined the way.
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Their scented violet blue coloured bells nodding to us in recognition as we passed by.
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While many shy buds were still in quiet contemplation.
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Drifts of bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) lined a little meandering path that once was used by men, women and children as they walked to and from work at the local mill during the days of the industrial revolution.
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A path that in places has glimpses through the tree line of dramatic drops down to the River Almond.
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At its shoreline a glade of wild primroses intermingled with wild violas, red campion and forget me nots awash the woodland floor.
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A lade starts to flow along here towards the old mill. (A lade is a watercourse that carries water to a mill) Side by side with the carpet of woodlanders the dippers dip, red squirrels gather, roe deer roam and buzzards soar high high above the tree line.
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What an awesome walk on the wild side!
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For the latest Bluebell sightings in your area of the United Kingdom please visit Bluebell Watch.
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Some Important Facts
The UK has up to half of the world's total bluebell population. Sadly our bluebells are now becoming an endangered species due to the Spanish bluebell escaping from our gardens and hybridizing with our native species. Its illegal to dig up the plants from the wild in any part of the UK for resale. If you don’t own the land it is illegal to dig up the bulbs for any purpose. In Scotland its even illegal to pick the flowers, leaves or seedheads.
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Though we did spot some Pink Spanish Bluebells along the lade at Cromwell Park.
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Thankfully most garden centres no longer sell the Spanish bluebell.
Related Post
My afternoon stroll through Bluebell Woods May 2011
Related Post
My afternoon stroll through Bluebell Woods May 2011
2010 leavesnbloom
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“Some people, in order to discover God, read books. But there is a great book: the very appearance of created things. Look above you! Look below you! Read it. God, whom you want to discover, never wrote that book with ink. Instead He set before your eyes the things that He had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that?”
— St. Augustine (354-430)
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32 comments:
Wow...I would LOVE to walk along the path that leads through those flowers and trees. What a beautiful sight that is.
The sea of bluebells are so beautiful! So sad that they are endangered!
Such a beautiful walk , with your poetic message for us, how nice 1 I love St. Augustine's quote on the bottom, people just need to look all around, evidence of God is everywhere, thanks, Gina
Wow, Rosie what a sight to behold. Would love to walk along that path myself. Seas of blue blooms.A perfect walk.
What an amazing bluebell field, I don't think there are not many places like this left, in the world. I should like to just sit there a few hours and smell their scent.
Thanks for sharing this beauty on Macro Flowers Saturday.
Have a great weekend Rosie!
Wonderful photos, I love Bluebells so much...
I long to visit scotland in spring, I have memories as a child walking through woodland surrounded by them (Falls of Shin for example), and it holds a very special and dear place in my heart.
Sadly I did pick some - and was told off for it, but they still helf pride of place in a vase for a few days...
I lived in England for the first 26 years of my life and I remember "bluebell time' with great fondness. I had no idea they were now endangered. Your photos are wonderful. Thanks for taking us on your walk.
i would love to find a spot like that...how amazing...such a shame they're endangered...i also posted blue bells - although i didn't know that's what they were called...these are growing on the corner of a house down the road.
Blogger is not letting me comment thru wordpress, here is the link to my blog.
It's wonderful that places like this still exist, given that bluebells are becoming an endangered species. What a magical place for a stroll ... and how lucky you are to be able to view a sight like this! Just beautiful.
Wow this is an amazing sea of bluebells. It is so gorgeous and I do understand why it is illegal to pick or dig this flowers they are so pretty in the ground I want to be there. Hope people will understand that somehow we have to protect nature.
On the the other hand I like your quote from St. Augustine I showed it to hubby and he said "that is why I don't understand why their are atheist" oh oh!! Thanks for sharing these and happy Sunday!
With Yellow
What an ethereal landscape! I can only imagine the beauty and serenity of wading through such floral splendor. Too bad about the encroaching non-native Spanish Bluebell. Garden escapees of the invasive ilk very often wreak havoc with native species, so it really pays to know what you're buying and putting into the ground. Such lovely photos!
Rosie, thank you for this post! It reminded me of my trip to England long ago when I was fortunate to see a sea of bluebells. Wonderful!
this is a lovely place to be. I love the softness that you gave to you photos.
I loved your post. Blue bells are one of my favourite flowers, and now that I live in California, I miss them! I also liked how you used your post to raise awareness about how endangered they are. Beautiful photos.
I love your pictures of the bluebells flowers, and always appreciate the information you provided.
Wow are those Bluebells gorgeous! I've only seen sights like that in books. I can imagine how nice it would be to see and smell in person.
Thank you for taking us along on your walk via your lovely photographs. Such a very beautiful place and the carpet of flowers is stunning!
I appreciate your visit and comment on my springtime flowers post.
Hope you have a great week!
What a lovely path it is. The images of the bluebells are especially beautiful.
What a beautiful field of bluebells..I would love to just be there.
The only thing that could compare to an ancient wood is an ancient wood inhabited with English bluebells and the other wilflowers! I love the path and the whole slant of the land. It is all exquisitely beautiful. We grow the non scripta here, none of the Spanish, just to help the world population a little bit. :-)
Frances
Oh Rosie, You are so right about Fiona Goosefeathers walking through this magnificent bluebell heaven! We grow Spanish Bluebells in our garden but I've never seen such a lovely carpet of blue as this! You have definitely inspired me for the illustration. ( I will keep you informed when I do the artwork, so that you can see for yourself)
I also love the quote by St. Augustine.... it is something I often say, yet in my own words.
This is a gorgeous show of the blue bells! Thanks for beautiful photos so that we can enjoy the scene from afar! You are so lucky that you can walk through the sea of the blue bells in person!
The bluebells are AMAZING! What a beautiful walk through the woodland - almost like a dream world! How sad that bluebells are endangered.
What a magnificent forest! You called it the "wild side" - way better than some of the wild sides I have seen in cities! Those bluebells are a beautiful finger print of God!
Oh Rosie,
Scotland is just SO BEAUTIFUL!!! Your photos remind me of how much fun I had traveling there. The bluebells are so pretty. I think I may need to schedule another trip sometime when they are blooming :-)
Wow, Leaves! What a beautiful field of flowers! How wonderful it would be to see such an expanse of bluebells. It looks as though that path might be swallowed up by the "sea" at any moment.
Absolutely incredible~what a wonderful walk~Thank you for sharing this with us. gail
Hi Rosie! What a beautiful sight! Wouldn't i love to take a long walk there! Thank you for posting these amazing images.
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Have a great week!
This post just made my day! What a fantastic walk through the woodlands carpeted with bluebells! I have never been to Great Britain, but a sight like that would be worth the trip. The old mill is idyllic also. Blessed are you to experience such a wonderful outing. And thank you for sharing it!
Really enjoyed the bluebell walk. That quotation from Augustine is spot on. Thanks, Rosie.
A fantastic sight Rosie:)
What a great post! Beautiful shots!
Thanks for stopping by my blog today and leaving a comment and I really appreciate you taking the time to do so. I'll either reply to you on my blog or else make a return visit to your blog over the next few days.