Bluebell woods

Over the space of a few weeks in spring, from mid-April onwards, bluebells set our woodlands ablaze with their bright purple-blue flowers. Some of the best displays of these much-loved flowers can be found in woodlands managed by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.

Bluebells are the start of the show in springtime woodlands but there's lots more to see and hear too. Listen out for woodland birds singing from the branches. Many bluebells woods will be home to birds that have migrated thousands of miles to the UK to breed like the blackcap, willow warbler and chiffchaff.

On the ground look for other woodland wildflowers among the bluebells like the delicate white stars of stitchwort and the unmissable pink spikes of early purple orchids. Remember it’s not just about the colour. The flowers have a distinctive if subtle sweet scent: get down amongst the nodding flower heads and take a deep sniff too!

The recognisable flowers of the bluebell carpet our woodlands in an enchanting sweep of purple every year - a nature spectacle not to be missed. 

At a glance, native and Spanish bluebells can easily be dismissed as being the same, but a closer look reveals some simple-to-spot differences that will let you distinguish between the two.