Ilkeston - Bluebell Time in Shipley Wood
w/e 26 April 2026
All of this week's pictures were
taken with a Nikon D3300 camera..
I've walked along this lane
off Heanor Road opposite Church Street many times and remember
a rainy Saturday afternoon as coronavirus restrictions eased
in May 2021 when I went in search of bluebells. That year I was
caught in a heavy shower but now the walk through Shipley Wood
was under a clear blue and cloudless sky.
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The lane through the wood is also called Church Street accordoing
to Google maps as it is an extension of the road on the other
side of Heanor Road although I have my doubts about that as elsewhere
it is called Shiply Wood.
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You'll see bigger and better displays of bluebells elsewhere
but it's always a joy to see them flowering in a natural woodland
environment however many there are.
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Well trodden paths lead off the lane on both sides and many are
lined with bluebells.
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Just a few of the flowers among the many in the wood.
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And in close up pushing their way up through other plants.
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A squirrel was keeping still hoping I hadn't seen him but
as soon as I pointed the camera he was off up the tree.
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It was not only bluebells in the wood, there were white ones
too.
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On the return to Heanor Road a large bird landed in the road,
walked a little way and then flew off.
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At first I thought it was a pigeon but
rounding the corner in the lane, a rustling above alerted me
to the fact that I was being watched! The Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds (RSPB) website says"Many of the UK’s
most common corvids – members of the crow family –
sport all-black plumage, which can make identification a bit
of a headache" so I'll just say it was a member of the crow
family.
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