It's bluebell time again, and, although they flower freely in our every-day dog-walking wood, I like to go and see the hillsides covered by them just outside Cromford, Derbyshire. We don't walk this route any other time of year - it's steep, at times as steep as a flight of stairs - but at bluebell time I wouldn't miss it!
The path starts a little unpromisingly from behind the John Smedley factory in Lea Bridge but quickly heads uphill through Bow Wood, now owned by the Woodland trust.
At first the bluebells are mixed in among the white flowers of the stitchwort but as the path climbs bluebells take over...
....with apple trees covered in blossom nodding above them ....
...till you reach the point with the first view of the open fields of flowers.
Onward and upward...and there are more bluebells...
...and more....
Fortunately the path doesn't head straight up this slope (my legs are getting tired by now!) but curves around the hillside through the flowers
through another wooded area, carpeted with bluebells and garlic
eventually reaching the top of the climb with glorious views to the hills beyond Cromford
Following the ridge back towards the start, you can look down on the bluebell fields you walked through
