Walking amongst bluebells
Recommended walks at bluebell time
Please send us your favourite locations if they are not on the list already
In late April and May parts of the forest floor turn purple-blue and the air is filled with their sweet honey-scented perfume. It is what Jeremy Purseglove has described here as "surely the greatest wild-flower spectacle in the English landscape."
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Everyone seems to have their own favourite bluebell wood and on this page we will be listing some recommendations of where to go to appreciate them at their best. But there are many more sites which are equally good, possibly even better! We'd love to hear from you if you'd like to share the location for us to add to the list - and maybe even a picture or two?
All locations listed here are either on publicly-accessible sites or can be viewed from public Rights of Way.
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We hope to add more locations and pictures as the season goes on.
Caring for Bluebells
Bluebells are precious and fragile. Please see this advice from the National Trust and help to conserve them.
In particular please:
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Never stand on or walk through patches of bluebells.
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If there's a marked route to follow, always stay on the path.
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Never pick bluebells to take home.
Short Wood, north of Glapthorn
Our favourite ever bluebell walk was on 3rd May 2023 when Keith Alvey led us around this Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve. It is just a short distance from the water tower at TL022913 where there is plenty of parking. More details of the reserve here.
Old Sulehay Forest
On 10th April the southern part of the wood was already beginning to turn blue (picture, left). This is another Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve, and is to the southwest of Wansford with various parking possibilities. Read more about the reserve on our Places to Visit page and from there you can download a leaflet and map.
What about Fineshade Woods? While these are botanically rich and very diverse, they are not on our recommended list. There certainly are patches of bluebells in the Ancient Woodland areas but if you are looking for a sea of blue it's best to go elsewhere.
North Spinney has always been the most prolific area (follow the Bridleway up from Duddington and branch left into the wood after passing the forest gate) but, late last winter, extensive tree-felling work was carried out. Work had to be stopped because of wet ground and the felled trees and branches could not be properly cleared. The bluebells are still coming up amongst the extensive debris - but it's not a pretty sight this year!
