Bluebell walk

Easter Sunday falling on 20th April meant that our Sunday walk had to be postponed for a week. This was perfect as it allowed the bluebells another week to do their best; and their best they certainly did. On the recce, 3½ weeks before, one or two were already out (help! would they be over by 27th?), some were budding but most were still only leaves (phew!). In those weeks in between I nervously looked at weather forecasts, willing it to get warm enough to get things going, but not too warm; and then the forecast for that Sunday was not good: sunshine and showers, but mostly showers. However, once again a London-Walking-Group meteorological miracle was wrought so that we had no rain while we were actually walking.
I was on tenterhooks as the eight of us left Otford Station and walked steeply up onto the North Downs. The first bluebell I saw was a picked one lying on the path. A good sign. Soon we were passing clumps and small swathes growing by the wayside. Once into our first wood we feasted our eyes on large expanses of purply-blue haze beneath the pale green of new leaves. Then it was one bluebell wood after another for about three hours. It was good that the sun was not shining all the time so that you didn’t get the bright dappling on the flowers which can actually spoil the purple mist effect: the flowers seem really to glow in a slightly darker environment, and after the rain in the night we sometimes got a lovely whiff of their scent.
As a vivid contrast was the oil-seed rape which had been nothing more than green shoots 3½ weeks before; now the brilliant yellow flowers were over Norma’s head as our path took us right across the middle of a field.
The pub at Romney Street, with its boot cupboard outside the front door, served us delicious lunches after which we walked over a flower meadow leading to a lovely valley full of birdsong and buzzing insects, with views on the skyline of the City and Canary Wharf.
Someone suggested that I could offer a shortened version of the walk as an extra (annual ‘bluebell’) walk late in April in future years. I would be more than happy to do this; and others might have favourite bluebell woods they would like to lead us to.
Joy
Photos by Richard P.