Bluebells at Cam Peak, Fritillaries at Cricklade

The bluebells were over in Bristol, but there were some still flowering just twenty miles up the road, on Cam Peak in Gloucestershire, so I headed up with Cwtch, who's always keen to visit new places. (Not that it was a new place for me, but with 16 years having elapsed since my last visit, it was still exciting.) 

The hill is 16 years steeper to climb than it was back then, when tackled head on from the car park. I felt like the English Woman who Went Up a Hill and then Went Up a Mountain. Or maybe it's because I was still in my forties then and now I'm well into my sixties.

bluebells and red campion

Just when I thought I might not make it, I found I'd made it.

Cwtch and I then made for Cam Long Down hill fort, which, again, I'd walked all those years ago with my friend, Jill, and my old collie, Ted, who wasn't old at all back then - I think he was just a year old.  

There was a lovely sunken lane to walk up onto the down. It was so deep the violets were almost fluorescent. 

Along the skyline, from far left: May Hill, the Malvern hills, and Bredon Hill

Downham - or Smallpox - Hill, the latter name deriving from an 18th century isolation hospital sited there

Looking south to Nibley Knoll and Tyndale Monument, which I can see when looking north from my bedroom window

May Hill and the River Severn just coming off its huge meanders around Arlingham and Awre

On the return route, Cam Peak was in view for much of the way. 

This time we walked around the back of it, through the little wood that was still quite bluebell-y.

There's something so magical about bluebells growing in the open. They are one of my very favourite sights on Dartmoor, but Cam Peak being only 20 miles from home, these make a very acceptable alternative during these days of shoulder impingement and increased petrol prices.  

bluebells and red campion; violet; ground ivy and buttercups; ground ivy and herb Robert; bluebell; bluebells and cowslips; forget-me-nots; bluebells, red campion and whitethorn

While the jaunt to Cam Peak was on the spur-of-the-moment, the trip the following day to North Meadow in Cricklade with my friend Cathy had been longer in the making - in fact, I'd been keeping an eye on 'Fritillary Watch' for a couple of years before we got around to setting a date.

whitethorn flowers and berries

Why fritillary watch? Well, incredibly, North Meadow - which consists of traditionally managed Lammas lands - contains no less than 80% of the country's snake's head fritillaries growing in the wild.

We set off in a clockwise direction, and saw - well, a pretty paltry amount of fritillaries, to be honest. Cathy apologised for not being able to come last week when they were at their height, but although there were a few that were over, there weren't a huge number of them. It was a bit of a mystery. We walked on. 

Cuckoo Flower or Lady's Smock

A very high foot bridge over the infant Thames, suggesting how high the waters might rise in times of flood

Every now and then I knelt to take photos of individual fritillaries. Every now and then I wondered if I'd be able to get back up - but managed it.

Then, about two-thirds of the way around, just as we were reconciling ourselves to a slightly disappointing trip, we spotted ... more fritillaries. In fact, a lot more fritillaries. 

Finally, this was more like what we'd imagined. A triumphant jaunt snatched from the jaws of defeat!

Hemlock Water Dropwort in the River Churn ... 

... and a holly blue butterfly

There was just time to drop a couple of my books into the nearby Little Free Library, and we headed home, well pleased with our morning out. Bluebells are glorious, but other flowers are available.

Bluebells and ramsons

It was in the extreme heat of last summer that I first visited Three Brooks Nature Reserve in nearby Bradley Stoke, and resolved to revisit it at a more interesting, and cooler, time of year, and since the three patches of woodland there are bluebell woods, last week seemed a good time to honour that promise. 

The wood I chose to visit was Savages Wood, which, although not particularly old itself, is believed to be on the site of ancient woodland. And sure enough, it was very different from the last time I visited, being fairly bluebell-y, with some persistent celandines and wood anemones ... 

... not to mention the odd cowslip, and ramsons (wild garlic) that are just starting to come out.

Also just coming out is the whitethorn, which is blossoming so very late this year. 

One of the nice things about Three Brooks Nature Reserve is that it has - aha! - three brooks. The one accompanying us on this visit was Patchway Brook, prior to its union with Stoke Brook to form Bradley Brook (which has a nature reserve all of its own), and it was looking particularly picturesque.  

There are also ponds providing habitat for endangered newts, which I can visit with impunity with Cwtch as she wouldn't dream of disturbing the inhabitants, not if it means getting her paws wet. This one was sporting some rather spectacular kingcups.

We also walked through Bowsland Meadow, which had been parched to a crisp the last time we were there ... 

... and made a late diversion to the community orchard, where Cwtch posed amiably for her close-up. 

This exploration was, however, sandwiched between two rather more spectacular visits to Long Wood and Hermitage Wood on Purdown, which are designated ancient and semi-natural woodland and have some outstanding trees ... as well as some new (since the last time we were there) sculptures, which are really impressive. 

Butterfly community bench

The Eagle sculpture

The Dragon Mushroom Castle sculpture

I think someone's been eating them

The Conker bench and sculpture

The Night Animals (with offering)

The Night Animals

The Acorns sculpture

The Old Man of the Woods

We might have hoped for some living wildlife, and there were definitely signs that deer had been in the vicinity, but hoofprints in mud and stripped bark was as far as it went. 

Of course, we were visiting mainly for the bluebells, which are such a joy this time of year and a balm for these difficult times we're living through. (And also to justify going out for breakfast afterwards.)

By the time of our second visit, a week after the first, the ramsons were beginning to proliferate too, particularly in Hermitage Wood ...

... although perhaps most startling was the brilliance of the new leaves.

However, what really sets these woods apart from others is the primordial feel they have, as trees rot, and in some cases, fall and are left lying like huge beasts. 

Some also become home to colonies of fungus ...   

... and a slug. 

King Alfred's Cakes and Turkey Tail

Dryad's Saddles

Turkey Tail fungus

Cwtch passing the Old Man of the Woods

Boundary stone between Bristol City and Stoke Gifford in Gloucestershire (now South Gloucestershire)

A magnificent horse chestnut