Micheldever Bluebells

29th April 2009

I have heard the expression "a carpet of bluebells". Today I saw several.

Micheldever Wood lies along an undesignated lane off the A33 (look for a signpost off the dual carriageway pointing right to Northington). It is a Forestry Commission managed site mostly consisting of beech trees and, at this time of year, thickly carpeted with Endymion non-scriptus - our native plant. Although the woodlands are managed, the bluebells are completely naturally occurring. The combination of the shining green of the beech tree foliage and the glowing lilac-blue of the flowers is the most sublime; matched with blue skies and clear sunlight, it is a natural magic that occurs only in England. I am reliably informed that at dusk the flowers would actually glow due to the ultra-violet in their natural colouring. This I have yet to experience ...

I had the company of my mum today. We found a little path heading almost directly up from the car park through a straight avenue of trees. There were a few clumps of bluebells dotted here and there. The further in we went, the denser became the bluebell cover under the shining trees.

As much as we could we chose the narrower, windier paths which took us like welcome guests among the bluebells.

Our choices were many. Eventually, we were led back to the car park, and having already been past the large tumulus and having seen the "banjo" on a previous visit, we passed through the car park to the road. Turning right we came to a locked metal gate with a wide path beyond. Here is the choice of climbing over the wooden fence or ducking under the gate.

Having negotiated this obstacle we were soon flanked by ever denser "carpets" of bluebells. To left and right greenways ran into the distance; we continued up the main way to where the path divides, going ahead across a meadow (in summer, hopefully, to be crowded with wildflowers) and bending right to meet a bridlepath. As we looked across the field there was a taletell shimmer of blue amid the trees of the woodland on the far side.

We went round to the right with the path, alongside the meadow on the right and bluebells and beech wood to our left. Where paths met, we turned right along the meadow's edge and were soon in woodland again with the densest cover of lilac-blue yet. Here was a true "carpet".

We continued on (after yet another photoshoot) along the bridleway, past the open gates to the meadow where travellers' caravans had congregated and where the bridlepath becomes one of the many ancient Oxdroves, which comes up from the south and soon turns north.

Right alongside the M3 Winchester services and the M3 its glorious (?) self.

As soon as we could we found a greenway heading back into the woodland and then on to a narrow path heading downhill which turned at the bottom on to another greenway that led us back to the gate and the road.

Back to the car park after a surfeit of bluebells and at 4.50pm, the delights of the M3 rush hour traffic to brave.

After such a walk, however, the spirit is so uplifted that not even a midweek rush hour can quench the joy!

For those of a Tolkienian nature, these woods could well be those of Lothlorien ...