The Sussex Bluebell Sanctuary

There is nothing quite like walking around a British bluebell wood in late April or early May, especially during the 'golden hour'. For 2025, I chose a small, hidden bluebell wood along an embankment, perhaps one hundred metres long and twenty metres wide. I first discovered the wood late one evening, in April 2022. With daylight running out, I rushed a few shots, which showed promise, but never went further than my desktop. I have only seen one other person in the wood in three years of visiting, yet there is a busy road nearby and well-trodden bluebell woods attracting thousands of visitors per season. There is no parking and the wood can only be accessed from a long, rough path, with gullies, which fill with rainwater after storms.

My first visit of 2025 took place under bright, but sunless skies — ideal for daytime bluebell photography. After carefully following a deer track into the wood, I spotted a dead Hornbeam tree surrounded by bluebells, with an adjacent English oak. The sun briefly poked through with an orange glow around 7pm. When I returned a few days later, I thought the scene would look even better under sunny skies, but the dappled sunlight made the scene look overly-busy. The best lighting for this scene during evenings is partial shade, with the evening sun lighting the Hornbeam trunk and background. I have spent many spring days trying to keep warm from cold winds rushing through the woods, as it was in April 2021. I had to keep reminding myself that it was only April 30th. The weather felt more like July, as temperatures soared to 26 Celsius.

I've seen so many people ruin bluebell woods, that I feel very protective of the few, untouched sites in the area. Walking on bluebells crushes the foliage, depriving the bulb of the photosynthesis it needs to recharge energy reserves for next year's growth. Damaged bluebells can take five years to recover. I tried to imagine the gardens belonging to the type of people who flatten bluebells in search of that 'iconic' selfie. Astroturf, a firepit, stone chippings and a plastic rattan corner sofa. Filling the space are two American XL Bully dogs, Gran throwing snails over the fence, Bailey on the barbecue, stacey.live.laugh.love92 on TikTok and teenage son Mason and his Meet me at McDonald's haircut. Something crossed between a miniature golf course and a pet cemetery, designed by the creators of a bluebell cemetery.

 

 

Hazy clouds filtered the low evening sun to create a warm, soft glow. Direct, unfiltered sunlight, even during the golden hour can bleach out colour in the flower heads. Zoom into the gap between the two English Oak trunks, and you'll see a clump of bluebells growing above-ground. Bluebell seeds were likely blown by the wind into the gap, germinating in accumulated leaf litter, acting as a soil base and developing into bulbs in a process that took around five years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm pleased to have found such a small bluebell wood with so much to give. Three visits is quite enough. I wouldn't want to cause too much damage myself, as even the most careful visitor cannot avoid the occasional accident. I sat on the homeward-bound train with a G&T, surrounded by teenagers with Meet me at McDonald's haircuts, which would resemble clumps of bluebells if they were dyed green and blue. Don't give them too many ideas, I thought. I hope you enjoyed my bluebell photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.