Bluebell woodlands – Camping among bluebells
Camping in bluebells is a breathtaking experience! Waking up, unzipping your tent and stepping out into a field of blue is just magical. According to a poll by Plantlife in 2015, the nation’s favourite wild flower is the bluebell. Flowering from April to June, bluebells spring up in woodlands across England and the bluebell woodlands where our campsites are situated are no exception.
Best time for camping in Bluebells
Bluebells are bulbous perennials, which means for much of the year their bulbs are lying dormant under the soil but in spring, they begin to stir with green shoots pushing their way up to the surface from March onwards. Bluebells make the most of the sunlight reaching the woodland floor before other taller plants and trees can blossom in April and May, weather depending of course. They particularly like areas of high humidity.
The native Bluebell
Native bluebells are an ancient woodland indicator species – one of the species that experts look for when trying to determine the age of a woodland. An ancient woodland is one that has been present since 1600AD.
You can identify a native bluebell by studying the plant. A native bluebell (or hyacinthoides non-scripta) has a leafless stem that grows to between 20 and 50cm tall. It nods to the side when in flower and can accommodate up to 20 flowers. As the name suggests the flowers resemble blue or violet bells, made up of six petals. The petals upturned tips give them the bell shape. Occasionally flowers can be white and rarely, pink in colour. The leaves grow around the stems and are straight-sided.
Y
ou can also find Spanish bluebells growing in this country. These have spread from private collections in gardens and represent a threat to the native bluebell population as cross-pollination results in a hybrid version. The Spanish bluebell has a stiffer and more upright stem with flowers which are more bell-shaped and broader leaves. Another way to tell native from non-native bluebells is to look inside the flower at the pollen. Native bluebells have pollen that is creamy white, while the pollen of the Spanish bluebell is blue or green.
The Woodland Trust is keen to record sightings of flora and fauna in its Nature’s Calendar and you can record bluebell sightings to help with their research, which monitors the effects of climate change and other environmental factors.
The woodland meadow at Beech Estate Campsite
Camping in Bluebells
Both Wild Boar Wood Campsite and the woodland at Beech Estate Campsite are both great places to camp amongst bluebells. In springtime they are carpeted with these well-loved flowers.
Wild Boar Wood is our glamping only site in West Sussex. Here you can stay in one of our pre-erected bell tents, and step out into a magical woodland that is just bursting with these beautiful flowers during Spring. Beech Estate Campsite is our glamping and camping option in East Sussex. Choose to pitch your own tent or opt for a pre-erected bell tent. Both are set in private woodland glades with a 600 acre woodland to explore.
In addition to the bluebells in our own woodlands, you will be able to get out and visit other woodlands in the areas around our campsites to see more carpets of blue. Two National Trust gardens close to Wild Boar Wood are recommended by the trust as some of the best places to see bluebells in flower: Sheffield Park and Nymans.
“The Bluebell is the sweetest flower
That waves in summer air:
Its blossoms have the mightiest power
To soothe my spirit’s care”
Extract from Emily Bronte’s The Bluebell
More information about our campsitesBeech Estate CampsiteWild Boar Wood Campsite |
