Do views get better than this?
It’s Bluebell season. And as far as our eyes can see we’re looking at a magnificent blazing blue carpet. There’s nowhere more magical when the Bluebells are out than the Angmering Park Estate. It’s simply breathtaking. We love it. In the sun. In the rain. In the mud. We don’t care, so long as we’re there. Anytime from mid April onwards and it’s our favourite stroll out on a Sunday with the family.
At its longest, the walk is about 5 miles and can take over two hours to complete, especially when you have little people with you. But there are plenty of different start routes to reduce it down to around 3kms. The route is mostly flat, although it does get muddy so wellies or hiking boots are a must.
Today we’ve got the whole crew with us – our two girls, the nieces and the family Labrador. We park in the car park off Duke’s Lane. Loaded with drinks, pockets stuffed with snacks to keep us going (that’s just the adults!) and boot laces firmly tied, we’re off. We head to the northern end of the car park and walk right along the lane. You don’t have to but we keep going when we come to the crossways. The wonderful thing about this place is that you can create your own routes. You can follow the flat paths or you can go ‘off road’ and enjoy clambering over tree trunks and through puddles and over trenches. Sometimes we’re bigger kids than the kids when it comes to this! They’re the sensible ones who stand on the path tutting. Just for fun, we’ll chant the words of the Gruffalo’s Child as we go (well, why not?) changing the words just slightly. Aha, Aho, Look at these Bluebells. Where do they go….
On this special day, surrounded by our sea of blue, we really do strike lucky. Over the field is a deer, stunned by our strange invasion into his calm, blue oasis. He doesn’t hang around long after checking us out but the sight of him leaping over tree trunks through these amazing bluebells leaves us all frozen to the spot beaming from ear to ear.
Although these pictures were taken when the Bluebells were at their most glorious, it’s a beautiful walk in the summer as well, or on a crisp winter day when all you want to hear is the frost crack beneath the heavy tread of your boots.
Oh, and the Angmering Park Estate is also the fabulous backdrop for some amazing running routes. Every April, there’s a wonderful 10 miler or an equally brilliant 10k as well.
