# A walk in bluebell woods



## DonaldG (Aug 23, 2007)

Diana & I discovered an enchanted, magic bluebell wood today:










A whitebell and a bluebell


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Oh absolutely beautiful Donald, that's the Bluebell-Woods at Westerham I remember my parents visiting, waaay back when I was a pup ray:

Sadly, the M25 demolished it, when it was built :sigh:


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## DonaldG (Aug 23, 2007)

That is sad WB.

This one we discovered was just off the A30, somewhere in Somerset. When we scrambled up the embankment and saw it for the first time, we just stood there in wonderment. It truly was a magical moment. The wood extended for acres, the aroma was phenomenal. 

We met one other family who shared the moments of peace and beauty with us - it was like visiting an enchanted forest.


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

nice pics, nice place Donald :grin: 

I have one little, lonesome, faithfull (comes up every year with flower) bluebell in a pot plant.


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

beautiful Donald .. I so envy you & your wife .. looks beautiful, must have been overwhelming to actually have been there, both as a human being and as a photographer .. can almost imagine the urge to want to run & play .. as yet the only thing of abundance I have seen here in Greece is margaritas and almond blossom .. some of which I will be sharing with you all ..


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

I was lucky in a way that, when mum & dad visited there back in the 50's & 60's, they 'borrowed' quite a few Bluebell-bulbs and replanted them in their garden (before it was illegal to pick wild plants). When I started gardening my balcony, I 'borrowed' some of their Bluebells, so I've got genuine 'Westerham Bluebells' too :grin:


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

I seem to remember a similar place in the area where my mother used to live, Culverstone near Meopham in Kent .. must dig out some photo's I took some years back when my daughter & I visited ..


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

This from a Vimeo regular - not sure that I like the constant blurriness of the DoF given by the Lensbaby kit but the place sure is nice :grin:

A Quiet Place on Vimeo


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## DonaldG (Aug 23, 2007)

Ouch! Remind me to NEVER get a lensbaby! I lasted 30 seconds of that video! I found it uncomfortable to watch. I do use small DOF where it brings out the subject but I found his usage rather gratuitous. Each to their own but it is not for me.

I am after a Sigma 8mm fisheye though - primarily for 360 spherical panoramas. I would love to have done that 'my' bluebell wood in 360.

There was a piece recently on TV about bluebell woods. Apparently it indicates an ancient coppiced woodland


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

I suspect that 'Lensbaby' would be better for still photos, rather than a movie-clip. Even then, it would only be for limited occasions.

Not to turn it into a music-thread, I did like the music for that clip though, nicely light and cheerful, but with a slightly sinister undertone :grin:

@ Donald - A sure way to find if the woods were coppiced, at any time in the past, is to look at the tree-trunks at the base. If the tree's been coppiced, the trunk will suddenly branch into 2 or more thinner trunks, just above ground-level. It's an ancient but very efficient method of harvesting wood for building/construction, the thick trunks provide the heavy beams, then the thinner trunks provide the spars and struts etc.


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