Bluebell season is upon us and it’s only Easter! ‘We’re not ready’, you say, ‘they’re too early’. It’s true – as I discovered last week at Ide Hill, they are a bit too keen this year. No idea why; wet February, dryish March, not too cold? Who knows, but usually they peak around 20-25 April in these west Kent parts. This year the peak looks like being around 10-20 April. They are already fairly spectacular, though not yet at full bloom.

The new contender for Best Bluebells of Kent Walks Near London is Home Wood in the Lullingstone Country Park. This is an obscure corner of the park just south of Lower Beechen Wood. It’s a less frequented neck of the woods and little known to me but the bluebells are great. Check out the map here to locate Home Wood. It’s kind of on the Full Lullingstone route I describe on this page – but use the map to find Home Wood.

Swathes of bluebells can be found on most of the Kent Walks near London – but One Tree Hill, Ide Hill, Meenfield wood on the Polhill walks, Cudham, Lullingstone (not the Eynsford route but the above mentioned full circuit) stand out in particular.

Here is last year’s Bluebell guide… very much applicable to this year I’d imagine! More on this soon, when I’ve decided on the results this year…