First Bluebells

I haven't been over to Runnymede for some time, so with the promise of a warm sunny day I grabbed some lunch and was soon settled down next the River Thames and relaxing over lunch and puzzles on the iPad.

I then took a walk around the riverside site where King John first signed the Magna Carta, the "Great Charter of Liberty", a milestone of individual rights and freedoms which has provided inspiration for many important constitutional documents including the United States Bill of Rights and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

I then thought to walk up to the Air Forces Memorial, but half way up entered some woodlands and to my delight found bluebells - my first of the year.  Even better, according to the information on the Woodland Trust  website the sweet scent and cream stamen confirm that these are native bluebells. 

By the time I'd had my fill of photographing and enjoying the woods it was too late to continue upwards, so I headed back down to the river for  a welcome ice cream, before driving up to the Air Forces Memorial, which commemorates by name over 20,000 airmen who were lost in the Second World War during operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe, and who have no known grave.