Field of Blue '13

Thursday evening on a spur of the moment decision, we took Brody to see the bluebells in Norsey Woods.  I'm more clued-up this year because I have the bluebells in Mill Meadow, where I regularly take Brody as a guide.  There are only a few bluebells in Mill Meadow, but there are loads in Norsey Woods.  We had not been in the evening before, the shades of blue seem darker, and as you peer under the trees the blue really stands out.  Brody though is not at all interested in bluebells whatsoever, they clearly do not have an inviting scent for a dog.

We walked around the red route, joining from the path that leads to Norsey Road.
Here is Brody walking along one of the main paths, with the blue hue under the trees in the background.

Patches grow on the side of paths, but rarely right on the edge:

This is just off the easy access path coming up behind the visitor centre, there's almost always a good show here, but in other places it depends on the phase of management.  The barrow area was great a few years ago immediately after it was cut back, but the new low growth means the bluebells are not visible now.

No bluebells here, this is the old WWI practice trench, which has recently been cleared to make it more visible.  Norsey woods is full of history, the barrow is old, this is more recent (almost a century old) and will probably not be visible in a couple of thousand years.

These bluebells are growing in a recently cut area.

I really love the way that the blue disappears into the wood.

Two close-ups.  I tried to get a picture looking up into the flower, but my picture skills were not up to it.  Maybe next year.

The paths in the wood seem more worn than I have ever seen them, which presumably means there have been more visitors, which in a way is a good thing.