IMPORTANT INFORMATION
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE MAIN ACCESS TO WARESLEY WOODS IS VIA THE CAR PARK AT BROWNE’S PIECE WHICH IS IN GRANSDEN ROAD. WHILST YOU CAN GET TO THE WOODS VIA THE FOOTPATH THROUGH WOOD FARM, THE ONLY PARKING IN WARESLEY IS OUTSIDE THE DUNCOMBE ARMS PUB. THIS IS PUBLIC PARKING.
THERE IS NO PARKING AVAILABLE IN VICARAGE LANE SO PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FIND SOMEWHERE THERE, USE THE PUB !!!!!!!
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BLUEBELLS
Hello again. It’s time for bluebells in Waresley Woods once again!
Waresley Woods are again full of beautiful English Bluebells. They don’t seem quite as good as last year’s exceptional display but they are still quite dazzling. The Woods and the car park in Browne’s Piece are now fully open again so you can all go and enjoy them. Just remember to keep to the paths, close the gates and NOT to pick any flowers or to allow your children to walk amongst them; both spoil the scene for others. As the woods are an SSSI it is also against the law.
I thought that I would re-publish the post from this time last year as it proved very popular:
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AN IMPORTANT UPDATE.
As of the 23rd October 2020 Waresley Woods are closed. This is because of the recent high level of footfall combined with the autumn and early winter weather has made the main paths extremely muddy which is leading to damage to the woodland flora. Browne’s Piece and the car park are still open. Waresley Woods will remain closed for the foreseeable future.
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Waresley Woods and the car park are both now fully open! Yippee!
Waresley Woods themselves have been open for 3 or 4 weeks now. However, the Browne’s Piece entrance to the woods has been closed since it beginning of lockdown. This meant that most people could not visit the woods. However, it did mean that those who live in Waresley were able to simply walk there and enjoy the lovely peace of an ancient woodland.
It meant that the magnificent display of English Bluebells was, this year, unmarked by visitors who think it wonderful to walk among the wild flowers and allow their little girls (and it is mainly girls) to sit in the midst of a swath of pristine bluebells picking the flowers to take home. Not only is this selfish, as they have destroyed the vista for those that come later, but the picking of English Bluebells, and of course other wild flowers, is illegal.
For those that don’t know, the bluebells in Waresley Woods are English Bluebells. These are the traditional, native wildflowers and are now increasingly rare. Garden centres almost always stock the Spanish variety. These are quite different in habit, although look very similar at a distance. They are also easier to grow, and unfortunately tend to take over from the native variety.
The English Bluebell is just that, a blue bell hanging on a slender thread from the slim, arching stem which curves delicately over so that the bells hang down, shaking gently in the breeze. These beautiful little flowers have been associated with the world of Faerie and enchantment since ancient times. It doesn’t take much to imagine a group of Fairies gently shaking the stem to ring the little blue bells. You can see from the picture below that in the Spanish variety the bells grow out from an upright stem, no chance for the Fairies to ring them!
Many thanks to plantlife.org.uk for the illustration, which I think explains the difference better that my words.
It was so lovely walking in the woods when the bluebells were at their best. There was no-one there. No sound of aeroplanes or cars or people. All you could hear was the song of the birds, the rustle of the trees, the occasional movement of an unseen animal and the gentle sound of ones own footfall. So very wonderful and special to be in the woods as they would have been 40 years ago.
S
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If you are interested in Waresley Woods and walks in the surrounding area, you may find. the following links of interest……..
https://www.wildlifebcn.org/waresley
https://my.viewranger.com/route/details/NTIzMTg=
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waresley_and_Gransden_Woods
https://cambswalks.blogspot.com/2017/11/great-gransden-to-waresley.html
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Thank you,
Sapientis