Bluebell Woods

Fer­ro­equi­no­lo­gists will think at once of the Blue­bell Rail­way, in Sus­sex, but in North York­shire we have our own dis­plays of this won­der­ful wood­land flower.  Walk­ing from Cram­beck into Castle Howard Woods and up onto the ridge which over­looks the main park­land, one passes through the richest pos­sible sea of col­our, spread­ing up the hill­sides and lit up here and there where the sun comes through the new leaves on the over­arch­ing trees.  And then one can drop down to the Crown and Cush­ion in Wel­burn for a pint and some grub before head­ing back to catch the bus at Whit­well on the Hill.

(And for those of you who think, how quaint, a bus, rest assured that they run every half-hour, Monday to Sat­urday, between Leeds and Malton via York (hourly on Sundays) and will also take you on to Whitby, Scar­bor­ough, Filey and Brid­ling­ton in safety and com­fort. And many are double deck­ers so you can see over the hedges.  Don’t use the car — it just doesn’t make sense)