Gallery: if you go down to the woods today …
You’re sure of a big surprise
The Teddy-Bears’ Picnic, Jimmy Kennedy / John W. Bratton
A bonus I didn’t expect when joining a local photography group was that one of the members would own a patch of woodland. A wood that at the moment is full not of picnicking bears but of bluebells and other early spring flowers.
He invited some of us on a drive down to Sussex last weekend to spend time in his wood. We sat around a small campfire enjoying coffee and cake, and chatting not only about our photography but much else besides. Later we enjoyed potatoes cooked in the fire and various other treats contributed by all of us.
There were strolls to see the bluebells growing in profusion nearby, and a longer walk to explore the extent of his patch. We detoured through a neighbour’s meadow where primroses and violets were starting to appear, and spotted wood anemones hiding among the bluebells elsewhere. He told us about how he is managing the wood under the supervision of the Forestry Commission, cutting down some non-native coniferous trees to let our native beech, hazel, oak and others thrive.
And to make the day extra special, we were treated to the sort of spring day that has so far been a rarity this year, mild and with hazy sunshine. Here are a few of my favourite shots taken in those tranquil woods.
I visited this West Sussex wood in April 2024
44 Comments
Annie Berger
Lucky that you joined a photography group that had a member with his own woodland and that he was kind enough to share it with other like-minded friends!
Sarah Wilkie
Super lucky! They’re a friendly welcoming group but the woodland really was an unexpected bonus 🙂
equinoxio21
Thank you for the stroll… Been ages I haven’t been in European “woods”
Sarah Wilkie
Glad to have taken you along 🙂
norasphotos4u
Lovely place beautifully photographed
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Nora 🙂
grandmisadventures
those bluebells are magic 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
I think so, yes – thank you Meg 🙂
Wind Kisses
That friend is a keeper! I love that song…I always have and always will and it was the perfect intro for your post. Beautiful photos, Sarah and lunch sounded wonderful
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Donna 😀 I used to love that song as a child and it came back into my head when I started to plan this post as ‘go down to the woods’ is exactly what we did!
Tanja
Pretty flowers
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you, yes, very pretty 😀
SoyBend
Beautiful flower photos, Sarah! Love the fiddleheads too.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Siobhan 😊
thehungrytravellers.blog
Bluebell time is one of the joys of the English countryside, isn’t it. We haven’t seen it since COVID as we haven’t been in the country at the right time of year since then. I lived in Sussex for 20 years and the scenery and countryside was an absolute pleasure all year round. Bluebells were always quickly followed by the rhododendron season – beautiful!
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, it’s a lovely time of year provided the weather obliges 😃
the eternal traveller
How beautiful, and how lovely to share this with new friends.
Sarah Wilkie
Thankyou, yes, it was a real treat 😃
Suzanne
Yes, I must admit on a wet autumn day it was a pleasure to come across your spring images. What a lovely thing to own your personal woodland. Magical places.
Sarah Wilkie
Glad to have given you a lift on a wet day Suzanne 😃 Yes, magical indeed!
Suzanne
We needed the rain and a family get together didn’t need sunshine, unlike a visit to a woodland 🙂
Teresa
Wow, I so love this purple field.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Teresa, glad you enjoyed it 😀
sustainabilitea
I’m just smiling with deep pleasure, Sarah.
Sarah Wilkie
That’s good to hear Janet, thank you 😊
kzmcb
What a beautiful day, Sarah, and great shots. All that was missing was an overnight camp.
Sarah Wilkie
My friend has a teepee here and does often camp here – both on his own and with family including grandchildren. They must love it!
BTW your other attempts at this comment went into my pending approval folder as I guess you weren’t logged in at the time, so I deleted them. I just didn’t want you to think they’d failed altogether!
kzmcb
Thanks Sarah. Each time I commented it asked me to log in and ‘lost’ the comment. I’m not sure what was going on, as usually that doesn’t happen.
Sarah Wilkie
Odd, but the comments weren’t logged, just hidden in my pending approval folder. I have no idea why as you’ve commented many times before!
restlessjo
They are one of those sights in nature that are almost impossible to reproduce on camera, Sarah. We had some beautiful bluebell woods in Durham and I used to love that ethereal sight and the intensity of colour. Sounds like you had a lovely day.
Sarah Wilkie
So true – I captured only a little of their beauty, but I enjoyed trying!
Anne Sandler
How wonderful to have a friend who shares such beauty. Sounds and looks like you had a beautiful day.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Anne – it was a lovely day and a real treat!
Alli Templeton
What a glorious post this is, Sarah. The blaze of purple alone is like a magnet to my eyes, but this whole woodland looks like a slice of pure heaven. I’ve long hankered after owning my own bit of woodland, so you can imagine how much I’d have loved to have gone to your friend’s wooded sanctuary and bask in it’s springtime colour and beauty. It looks stunning, and that shot of him walking amid all that wondrous nature pretty much mirrors my own dream. 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Alli, I’m so glad you liked this. If you dream of owning a patch of woodland this place would be perfect for you. It’s divided into lots, each with a different owner. My friend has created a real haven here, with a teepee for rough camping, firepit etc
Alli Templeton
Oh my goodness, what a great idea. That would be a dream come true for me! 🙂
Monkey's Tale
That’s a nice surprise and what lovely woods to explore in spring. I really love your fiddleheads pictures. Maggie
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Maggie, so glad you liked them 😊
margaret21
What a fabulous day. An d well done on those bluebells. I find them next to impossible – that colour – so evanescent.
Sarah Wilkie
They can be difficult to capture. It’s easier if they’re in the shade, as these mostly were, but I did bump up the saturation a bit on a couple of these shots to get the colour closer to what I’d seen.
Brad M
Thanks for the images of an English wood in the Spring. Near the Hundred Acre Wood perhaps?
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, in the same part of the country as the Hundred Acre Wood, although not immediately near it.
Brad M
Sherwood Forest was my other guess, but I’ve been there.
Sarah Wilkie
No, it’s nowhere near there!