Standish woods, wood anemones and bluebells

The sun came out this afternoon which I'd anticipated so after doing some chores I took the opportunity to drive up towards the top of the Cotswold hills.  I'd arranged to meet John and Liz at their house for tea after 4pm, and as I was a little early I drove a slightly longer route via Randwick so that I could pass though the famous Standish Woods.

They are particularly well known for the extensive carpets of bluebells which recur every spring throughout these ancient woodlands.  At present there are no leaves on the trees so I thought it would be a bit early for the bluebells which like to arrive under the dappled light of the newly opening leaves of the mostly beech woods.  One of the first spring flowers to appear are the white flowers of the wood anemones  which also carpet the floor of the woodlands.

I parked at a place that John had told me about last spring, where I had blipped an expanse of this wonderful blue extravaganza.  As I walked to the edge of the woods I saw that the wood anemones were dominant, but there were just a few bluebells just starting to unfurl their pretty bell flowers .  I stood looking at the sight and noticed a few birds flitting about in the treetops.  I pointed my camera towards the ground and waited for the clouds to pass and then too a couple of pictures to remind me of these lovely first days of spring.

I'll be back in a week or two to get the full effect again.