There’s nothing more enchanting than stumbling across a vibrant carpet of woodland bluebells. There are many places at Hughenden and in the Chilterns Countryside where bluebells flourish and they are at their best between mid-April and mid-May. Discover some beautiful Chiltern bluebells for yourself on one of our online / downloadable walks.
Bluebells are well-known for forming carpets of bright blue flowers beneath our oak and beech woodlands in the late spring. At this time of year, they can also be found along hedgerows and in woodland clearings. Their spectacular floral displays are exclusive to northern Europe, with Britain containing more than half of the world’s population of bluebells.
Bluebells at Bradenham
National Trust / Hugh Mothersole
Bluebells at Bradenham
Bluebells, which are inedible members of the asparagus family of plants, are perennial bulbous herbs with flowering stems to about 50cm tall. They spend most of the year as bulbs underground and emerge to flower from mid-April onwards, although they are usually at their peak in the first two weeks of May, depending on the spring weather. Up to twenty sweetly-scented flowers are borne on a flower stalk which droops to one side. The flowers are bell-shaped and although they are usually blue, they can be white or rarely pink.
Bluebell flower head
National Trust / Hugh Mothersole
Bluebell flower head
Help us to protect our bluebells
The common bluebell (hyacinthoides non-scripta) is a protected species in the UK and the main threats to their survival is people picking the flowers and illegally digging up the bulbs. Hybridisation is another threat, which occurs when common bluebells cross with their closely related cousins from Spain (hyacinthoides hispanica), which have been introduced to the UK as ornamental garden plants. When visiting bluebells on National Trust land, we kindly ask you not to touch the plants and to keep to the defined footpaths to avoid accidental damage.
Bluebells at Greenfield Copse
National Trust / Hugh Mothersole
Bluebells at Greenfield Copse
To discover bluebells for yourself, try one of the following downloadable walks in mid to late May.
A 7-mile walk from Watlington Hill that explores chalk grassland and beech woodlands on the historic landscape of the Chilterns on the border between Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
This is a 8.4 miles (13.4 kilometres) walk taking you around the National Trust’s Watlington Hill site, Pyrton Hill, Cowleaze Wood and the Wormsley Estate.
This energetic 4 mile walk broadly follows the outer boundary of the Hughenden estate. It allows you to explore beautiful woodland, open parkland, farmland and a rare chalk stream.
A moderate walk around the Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve and the National Trust woodlands at Juniper Bank and Aston Wood. Some of the route coincides with the way-marked Aston Rowant Discovery Trail.
This short way-marked walk takes you around Low Scrubs. The dense, dark woodland and the relics of its ancient use give the area a unique and mysterious atmosphere.
This is a medium length walk in the woodlands and meadows of the Bradenham Manor Estate in Buckinghamshire village of Bradenham and neighbouring meadows.