Spring walk at Godolphin

Hello all....hope you have enjoyed your Spring bank holiday Monday! I went to Godolphin to see the bluebells....last week there was no sign of them, now here they are!

Other spring flowers are appearing too.....red campions and yellow buttercups; oh May is such a glorious month for the hedgerows, they really make my heart sing!

the sky was dappled

frothy dandelions everywhere

and the whole of Godolphin Hill was dotted with the delicate drifts and clumps of wood anemones. They are late flowering this year; out at the same time as the bluebells.....

they grow amongst the heath and bracken and brambles,

some have green leaves and pure white petals; others have deep coppery burgundy leaves and petals with a pink flush on their backs

the wind-sculpted shape of this hawthorn caught my eye

an old brick mine chimney is neatly framed by the twisted branches

interesting gaps between the granite stones in the wall

I walked past this beech tree 3 days ago and the buds were still tightly curled; now the downy leaves in their vivid green are emerging.

Seeing anemones in flower always reminds me of a page in my great-grandfather's sketch book, his fine pencil and watercolour paintings so perfectly capture their delicate beauty

beneath the drawing below you can just make out the date: 7th April 1896, which goes to prove that the anemones are about a month late this spring

I shall leave you with one more picture of the beautiful bluebells   x x x