I try to pay a visit to Middleton Woods every spring to marvel at what is always a great display of bluebells, but with concentrating on other woodland this spring I didn’t have a day with suitable weather available until the end of the month and after a period of heavy rain so I thought that what few bluebells were left would have been ruined by the rain.

I decided to go along anyway and though the bluebells were indeed just about finished it was quite nice to spend some time in the woods looking for other spring subjects.  The shades of fresh green in the foliage were about at their peak and an odd beech tree with orange leaves, looking almost autumnal, added some interest.

A few bluebells remained in sheltered spots beneath old mossy, gnarled trees but amongst them fresh forest ferns were springing up.

In places the ferns leaves had already swamped the remaining bluebell flowers!

Here and there patches of white wild garlic flowers were still in bloom but the fresh green vegetation seemed to be the main subject of the day. It was probably a shorter visit than the usual spring visit when the bluebells are in full bloom, but it was still worth going, and the woods were a bit quieter too – it can get busy in bluebell season!