Walkers on the Shoreham Circular route will see very few bluebells unless they make a slight detour, extending the walk slightly by continuing up the hill at point 7 (instead of taking the path on the right) then turning right at the top and walking to point 9 along the lovely straight bridlepath through Meenfield Wood. Here, on either side of the track, the bluebells right now are magical, the spacing of the trees and lack of leaves allowing exactly the right light conditions for them I suppose. The photos above don’t do them justice whatsoever. The blue line on the map below shows the detour. There are also great bluebells near Shoreham on the Otford Circular walk between points 5 and 6, and the copses between points 8 and 9. For the Downe Circular, to add bluebells, turn left at Point 3 instead of right and walk for a couple of minutes into the woods at Downe Bank (also pictured above), then just retrace your steps. You won’t have to deviate from the route to find endless blue vistas on the Ide Hill Circular, however: there are wonderful displays on Ide Hill itself and in Scord woods and Emmetts Gardens, all en route.
bluebells
Bluebells north-west Kent 2016
(Read 2020 bluebells post here.) A lot of wild flowers are a bit confused at the moment. A warm winter without any prolonged cold snaps led to a bit of a false start in February. But since then the weather has struggled for sunshine and real warmth so blooms such as magnolia haven’t hit their stride. I’ve seen individual bluebells flowering since early February but now we are on the cusp of the great transformation of the woods. At Downe Bank last week things seemed particularly advanced though the bluebells won’t be at their best I reckon until the final weekend of April. Here’s a reminder of the best walks for bluebells on this site.
1 Ide Hill-Toy’s Hill circular walk via Emmett’s Gardens.
Here, bluebells are everywhere. Especially brilliant in Ide Hill NT woods and on the south-facing slope of Emmetts Gardens in Scord Woods.
2 Shoreham circular
You can easily extend the walk into the woods above Shoreham (Meenfield wood and Pilot wood) to the west, as far as Andrews wood on the other side of the boggy little valley for great bluebell vistas. Lots of paths bring you back to Shoreham via Meenfield wood.
3 Downe circular
At Point 3, instead of turning right towards Downe House, turn left on the path that heads down into woods (in to the valley between Downe and Cudham – an area called Downe Bank, which also contains some orchid varieties). The bluebells here are amazing. In fact every little copse around Downe, Biggin Hill and Cudham has spectacular seas of blue.
4 One Tree Hill walks
Both of the One Tree Hill walks passing Ightam Mote on this site will shortly have great bluebell displays, along with wild garlic.
5 Closer to London
Closer to London, the National Trust woodland at Petts Wood/Hawkwood has some great swathes of blue. Enter the wood from the entrance under the railway line at the intersection of Towncourt Crescent and Birchwood Road and take the second path on the left and you’ll soon be in the realm of the bluebells (in Edlmann Memorial wood) after passing through a grove of sweet chestnut trees. I’m sure there will be some bluebells in Sydenham woods and Beckenham Place Park too but a bit more patchy.
Bluebells 2015
(Read latest bluebell piece for 2020, here) The bluebells, as I write on April 26, are in full swing. They generally love moist, even swampy ground in sun-dappled woodland (so coppiced trees are very good) and south-facing slopes where the drainage isn’t great. The best places for walking amid bluebells – of the walks on this website – are:
1 Ide Hill-Toy’s Hill circular walk via Emmett’s Gardens. Here, bluebells are everywhere. Especially brilliant on the south-facing slope of Emmett’s Gardens.
2 Shoreham circular – extend the walk into the woods above Shoreham to the west, as far as Andrews Wood for great bluebell vistas.
3 Downe circular – at Point 3, instead of turning right towards Downe House, turn left on the path that heads down into woods (in to the valley between Downe and Cudham – an area called Downe Bank, which also contains some orchid varieties). The bluebells here are amazing. In fact every little copse around Downe, Biggin Hill and Cudham has spectacular seas of blue.
Other superb displays can be seen at One Tree Hill (1km south east of Knole Park), near Sevenoaks. Then, and closest to SE London, there is Petts Wood/Hawkwood. For the latter, enter the wood from the entrance under the railway line at the intersection of Towncourt Crescent and Birchwood Road and take the second path on the left and you’ll soon be in the realm of the bluebells (in Edlmann Memorial wood) after passing through a grove of chestnuts.
Kent walks near London 