Lady's Nightcap and Witches' Thimbles

And is it just my imagination but this year are the bluebells more abundant, more beautiful than in previous seasons. I am discovering them alongside verges, in secluded patches of woodland and in Lydiard Parkamong the wild garlic. My first brush with wild garlic was in Gower some years ago on holiday with my daughter when we got lost (a lot), and one night missed the last bus back to our B&B in Knelston, but got a lift from the owner of Penrice Castle (you couldn’t make it up!).

Getting back to the blooms - the bluebell is known by a variety of names, including Lady’s Nightcap and Witches’ Thimbles. Bluebell colonies take a long time to establish, some 5-7 years, and can take years to recover after footfall damage. And did you know it is against the law to intentionally pick, uproot or destroy bluebells? So please, just admire them from a distance.

Hagbourne Copse is well known for its display of bluebells. Once part of the Lydiard estate, Hagbourne Copse was sold in 1943 when Lydiard House and Park went up for auction following the death of Lady Bolingbroke three years earlier. The sale took place at the Corn Hall at Swindon's Cattle Market on Thursday July 29, when lot 13, comprising three enclosures of grass land and a well-timbered covert, was described as being ‘nicely situated abutting the main Swindon – Wootton Basset Road, with a frontage of approximately 1400 ft., known as Hagbourne Lane.’ The Covert measured 4.8 acres in extent and at the time of the sale was in hand.

Today the copse lies incongruously in the middle of the Blagrove Industrial Estate and is now owned by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. The nature reserve measures 2.01 hectares and is home to a variety of flora and fauna with visiting greater spotted woodpeckers and the occasional sparrow hawk.

Hagbourne Copse is a little distant for my permitted daily walk, but perhaps next year...