I had a walk into Nidd Gorge Woods near Knaresborough last week to catch a few of the bluebells while they were still in flower – I’m very lucky to have this lovely Woodland Trust woodland within walking distance of my house!

On the way I wandered through Mackintosh Park to see how the wild garlic flowers were coming along – quite a lot of plants were already in full flower but there were still plenty of buds to open.

In Nidd Gorge Woods some of the bluebells were looking a bit bedraggled after the recent heavy rain but there was still quite a good crop – I see the den building has been coming along too since my last visit to this part of the woods!

Nearby on the bank of the River Nidd there’s a lovely old hollow tree which I always like to visit and it looked particularly impressive on this occasion with the fresh spring foliage backlit by soft light from a rather overcast sky with a hint of rain in the air.

Across the footbridge on the Scotton Banks side there were some nice reflections to be had in the slowly moving water of the River Nidd.

The relections of spring foliage were gorgeous at this old tree with three mossy trunks overhanging the river – I’ve photographed it before and unfortunately there’s now a bit missing!  One of the trunks must have been damaged in the wind – you can see a previous version taken one autumn on the website.

More images from this shoot are now up in the North Yorkshire gallery on the website too and, as always, are available for licensing and as fine art prints.