Bluebells, wisteria, and apple blossom at Calke

The end of April continued warm and sunny, and bluebells were already flowering, so off to Calke we went to explore.

The Serpentine Wood is the place to find Calke's bluebells, and is best, in my opinion, approached from the 'Calke Explore' playground area as the flowers face that direction and appear bluer. So we stopped at the car park there, and headed straight for the higher part of the wood where the bluebells grow. It possible to walk from the main car park at Calke but we thought our route might be shorter - I'm not actually sure that it was.

A walk in woodland is lovely at any time of year but it's particularly beautiful when the ground is carpeted with bluebells.

The second part of our day was spent in the walled garden where the wisteria was flowering and the orchard in blossom.

We were a little early for the full display of wisteria but the sun-facing walls were covered with purple racemes. I don't think there's anything quite as lovely as wisteria cascading down a wall.

Through the doorway the lavender-edged path leads through the kitchen garden to the orchard - a gorgeous place to sit in the sunshine, especially at this time of year with the trees in blossom.

 

Early bluebells at Calke

Bluebell time is always something special when woodlands are carpeted by a blue haze. I always like to get out and about and see as many as possible, but with rain and things that had to be done getting in the way I only managed one trip out. 

I thought that at Calke there was a short, flat, easy walk, parking by the children's playarea and avoiding the up and downhill sections from the main carpark. I wasn't quite right - it was more uphill than I remembered, longer, and, in places, slippery underfoot (the latter particularly worrying with my dodgy ankles).

The bluebells were definitely worth making a bit of effort for though, despite me having to turn round sooner than I'd expected. Downhill proved to be harder than up, due to tiredness and the strain put on my ankles, but hopefuly everylittle bit of exercise makes me stronger.

 

Belton - part 2

Two days later, travelling home from our short break, we called back in at Belton. The skies weren't so blue this time (in fact there'd been rain that morning) but as we wandered around the clouds started to clear, and by the time we left the weather was sunny.

We'd stopped briefly earlier in the day at Burghley, and arrived at Belton in time for lunch - baked potato with chilli beans and coleslaw - before heading into the gardens.

We by-passed the formal gardens and headed straight to the point at which we'd abandoned our walk the previous visit, and meandered onward through the wilder areas towards the lake and boat house.

It was a slow walk, with lots of time spent sitting on seats, but there was something new to see at every turn, with the grass beneath the trees studded with bluebells and daffodils, and a small brook running down from the lake.

Eventually I got there, and found a spot to sit for a while longer watching birds on the water. I could probably have spent longer doing this, but, having walked that far, I had to walk back again. 

We followed a different route back, past a clearing filled with daffodils, and more bluebells. 

Finding our way through the maze didn't go as planned, as after awkwardly jumping a couple of puddles we found the centre completely flooded.

The day had been far busier than I'd expected and after all this exertion tea and cake were in order, before heading home.
 

Kedleston bluebells

Bluebell season is short, so it's necessary to make the most of it. The day after our trip to Calke, I decided to head out to Kedleston for another bluebell hunt. 

At Kedleston the bluebells are found along one of the paths we regularly take, the Short Walk.

There weren't at first many bluebells to be seen - but carpets of wild garlic, and garlic mustard growing round the trees, and blossom above us on the horse chestnuts.

We stopped, of course, at the viewpoint to admire the countryside, and talk to curious sheep, before heading on and finding bluebells at last.

We were a bit late in the season really, and brambles and nettles had grown taller than the bluebells but they still looked lovely.

There were anemones too, still flowering.

and this delightful small flower - purslane - which I've not really noticed before.  The individual flowers are tiny and easily missed but after spotting odd plants here and there, we were suddenly came across with a huge patch where they'd obviously spread uninterrupted..

This was my last bluebell jaunt of the year. It's getting too close to summer now, and I've still not managed to get back to Lea Bridge and its hillside covered in flowers, but that will have to wait another year now.