Bluebell time

The UK is home to more than half the world’s bluebells and, with their arching stems and fragile ‘bells’, they are one of the most spectacular sights of spring, forming hazy carpets of a blue so intense that it takes your breath away. The exact flowering time varies from year to year, depending on the weather conditions, but as a general rule they’re in bloom from roughly midApril to mid-May.

Many of Cornwall’s great gardens have magnificent displays of bluebells, including Glendurgan and Lanhydrock (both owned by the National Trust), the Lost Gardens of Heligan and (arguably the best of them all, at least as far as bluebells are concerned), Enys Gardens, just outside Penryn, which hosts an annual bluebell festival in the open meadow known as Parc Lye - see their websites for details of opening hours and ticket prices.

Of course, there are also many places where you can see these woodland beauties for free. Here are a few suggestions:

Cardinham Woods: From Bodmin, take the A38 towards Liskeard, then follow the signs for the woods. With waymarked trails between 1.5 and 4 miles in length, there are plenty of options for bluebell spotting here.

Idless Woods: Heading out of Truro towards Kenwyn, take the road to Idless just beyond the City Inn; it’s a narrow, twisting country lane, even by Cornish standards! The entrance to the woods, which are owned by Forestry England, is on the right-hand side, just beyond the hamlet of Idless itself.

Ladock Woods: Whether you go to the left of the car park (through the little metal gate) or to the right (over the stile), you’ll find bluebells in abundance. The path to the left takes you into a somewhat tangled area of woodland, while the one on the right runs parallel to a little stream and eventually leads all the way back down to Ladock.

Luxulyan Valley: Designated as part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site in 2006, with several marked trails to follow, you’ll find bluebells and primroses galore here. There are car parks at Ponts Mill (go through St Blazey on the A390, then take a left-hand turn and follow the signs for Ponts Mill) and at Black Hill, just beyond Luxulyan village.

Pendower Wood: See Woodland Walk on page 16-17. If you’re feeling energetic and want to stretch your legs a bit further, the fields adjoining the coast path between Pendower and Porthscatho are also full of bluebells and other spring flowers, giving you the added bonus of being able to photograph them with the sea as a backdrop.

Tehidy Country Park: Situated between Camborne and Portreath, Tehidy is the largest area of woodland in West Cornwall and has 9 miles of paths to explore in total, although the North Cliffs circular walk is said to be the best for bluebells. The park is managed by Cornwall Council and you can find more information and maps online.

English vs Spanish bluebells

There are two types of bluebell that grow wild in the UK – the native or English bluebell (Hyachinthoides non-scripta), and the Spanish bluebell (Hyachinthoides hispanica). The Spanish variety grows more vigorously than the native bluebell and so competes with it for light and space. Here’s how to tell the difference between them.

Native bluebell

• The flowers are deep blue and curl back at the petal tips

• The flowers are concentrated on one side of the stem

• The flowers are sweetly scented

• The leaves are narrow – about 1.5 cm in width

• The anthers (bearing the pollen) are usually cream

Spanish bluebell

• The flowers are more of a pale blue in colour, but can also be white or pink, and the tips of the petals are splayed

• The flowers are on all sides of the stem

• The flowers have no scent

• The leaves are broader – about 3 cm in width

• The anthers (bearing the pollen) are usually, but not always, blue