Timm's Grove

Two weeks later we visited Coughton Court again to see the bluebells this time.

We left the main grounds of the manor house, walked through a field, and came upon a small wood which is called Timm's Grove, reputedly named after a Highwayman who used it as a hideout between attacks.

This small woodland was part of a much greater medieval royal forest, probably a surviving area of the ancient Forest of Arden, which Shakespeare used for the setting of As You Like It.

We turned left once we entered the wood.

The whole of the woodland is covered with a thick carpet of bluebells. Bluebells take hundreds of years to form naturally, suggesting that this is, indeed,  a remnant of ancient woodland.

The bluebells in this wood are mostly native English bluebells. Bluebell bulbs divide gradually underground. The flowers also disperse seeds, but they are too heavy to be scattered by the wind and so bluebells spread only very slowly.

The English bluebell is an endangered species that is rare or absent in large parts of the UK.

We turned right and took the steep, uphill path

We were surrounded by these beautiful, vibrant flowers

Such joy!

We walked around the wood

and eventually came back near the entrance, where a huge throne provides lots of fun for the kids

We then had some fun ourselves before leaving the wood.

Saw some huge cattle in the field by the wood

And then we walked around the grounds of the manor house - again.