July 26th, 2010
Sorry it has taken so long to judge the 130 entries. We were so impressed with the quality of entries that after selecting the winner and runner up of each class we then chose six to publish on the website as ‘Commended’.
The winner and runner up of each of the three classes will receive their prizes and certificates, with certificates sent to the ‘Commended’ entries.
We also highlighted four entries as ‘Imaginative!’ so will have that title as an extra class for 2011.
The photos as shown in the Gallery will be prominently displayed at the 2011 Arlington Bluebell Walk for all to admire. The care and trouble so many took in compiling, printing and ensuring that we received them in tip top condition we felt should not go unrecognized, so all other entries submitted will be in a loose leaf binder adjacent to the displayed ones, unless of course you contact me to ask that your entry is not shown.
Thank you all for entering and please do so again for next year.
John McCutchan & others
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June 9th, 2010
Thank you for the large number of entries for our 2010 Photographic Competition, which we hope will be judged by the end of June.
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May 31st, 2010
Caterpillar of the Winter Moth
You may have found a number of little hitchhikers on your clothing after leaving the Wood.
These were most probably caterpillars of the Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata). These young larvae hatch in Spring and crawl up tree trunks where they drop on silken threads that can carry them in the wind to new areas, or onto you as you walk beneath the trees! This dispersal method is called “ballooning”.
The caterpillars are green loopers with pale lines on the sides and a darker one along the top. They are between 5mm and 10mm in length at this stage.
The Winter Moth is abundant in Europe and one of very few moths in which the adults are active here in the depth of winter, hence the name.
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The content of this post is licensed under the Creative Commons BY-SA License. It contains material modified from the Wikipedia article on the “Winter Moth”.
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May 25th, 2010
Sunday we closed but as the bluebells still look so good, we have left the Bluebell Wood open until the Bank Holiday. The Farm Trails are closed and no refreshments.
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May 21st, 2010
Bluebells are now out in their full glory, with their unique fragrance and vistas of blue as far as the eye can see. Final chance to see them in 2010!
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May 15th, 2010
Bluebells are now at long last out in their full glory. The weather is finally getting warmer just in time, as we close on Sunday 23 May!
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May 8th, 2010
Bluebells in some areas of the wood are now fully out and their fragrance is breathtaking. Each day we notice more bluebells emerging in their full glory.
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May 1st, 2010
A new sight at the Bluebell Walk this weekend is that of the bodger. A traditional craft of the 19th century, carried out within the wood itself, bodging is the process of turning legs, spindles and stretchers for chairs.
The bodger used a springpole lathe to turn the wood, so named because it utilised the branch or pole of a sapling as a spring attached to a rope worked by a foot treadle. In a makeshift shelter or hovel he would split and then shape the wood on a shavehorse before turning on the lathe.
Demonstration of bodging
‘Henry the Bodger’ at the Bluebell Walk has an example of a complete small windsor chair on show but explains that the bodger was just one of the many skilled craftspeople involved in it’s creation. The parts turned in the woods were taken to a chair-making centre where the sawyer, benchman and back-man would create the seat and other parts. Finally, the framer would put it all together to create the chair.
You can see Henry working the pole lathe on the approach to the bluebells in Beaton’s Wood.
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April 29th, 2010
As I can more usually be found sat in-front of a computer screen maintaining the bluebellwalk website it’s always a pleasure when I get my first chance to visit the actual Wood in bluebell season. Although today was only a brief stroll along the shortest of the walks it brought an ideal opportunity to witness the living wood responding to a change in the weather.
Being fairly early in the season, the bluebells were only about a third out and still happy to share the floral glory with that early star, the white wood anemone. The view of this two-tone flooring nestling around the coppiced tree trunks in the sun was delightfully understated and offered just a barely perceptible but refreshing fragrance. However, later in the afternoon, when the forecast rain shower did indeed arrive, I hurried back and practically dived into the Woods once more.
Taking a deep breath I inhaled the scent that could now almost be seen rising from the woodland floor. Galvanized, it seems, by the caress of the raindrops, the fragrance was so much more intensive than it had been just an hour earlier! There was something almost comforting about the aroma, sheltering beneath the canopy of trees, listening to the diminishing echo of raindrops as they were diffused on their path down through the branches and leaves.
The wood has this effect of creating a microclimate of tranquility that is difficult to tear yourself away from. But the computer called and I retreated home to investigate a way of simplifying and yet intensifying the website experience, inspired by the Wood itself!
Tim
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April 28th, 2010
Just a quick update to let you know that you can now follow the Bluebell Walk on Twitter.
http://twitter.com/batesgreen
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