My last bluebell walk

Yesterday (12 April 2026) I felt a bit emotional…

I couldn’t place my finger on why…

Until this morning when I realised it was the anniversary of my last walk through the countryside and in my favourite bluebell woods!

That’s correct on 12 April 2024 I walked to the woods and enjoyed listening to skylarks in the fields, and all the woodland songbirds, saw the purple haze of the bluebells, and enjoyed the walk.

It had been a wet winter into spring.

I’d had a fall in the January when I was trying out a bodycam

https://youtu.be/Gs0Q9GEUgUI?si=MVWgxhCI18uS5dNq

I went on 2 other walks between my fall, and my final bluebell walk.

The first I concentrated on the promise of spring in snowdrops.

https://wasthatadinosaurcouk.uk/2024/02/01/the-promise-of-spring/

The second I walked to the church in Tewin as there’s always a brilliant show of spring especially with the snowdrops and daffodils growing amongst the graves.

https://wasthatadinosaurcouk.uk/2024/02/17/a-muddy-early-spring-walk/

I remember the way I usually walked was so muddy I decided walking along the road was the safest option.

For some reason I didn’t write up my walk on the 12th. I remember there were several points on the walk where the mud felt impossible to traverse.

I still felt shaken by my fall in January and subsequent slips in my February walks. There had barely been many dry days between the rainy days.

I did use a photo from the walk in a post from the end of April.

https://wasthatadinosaurcouk.uk/2024/04/28/would-i-choose-a-bear/

And remember being startled by a horse rider not long after entering the woods and already being mesmerised by the purple haze and the birdsong…

I didn’t hear the horse walking behind me until the gent riding gently coughed, apologised for startling me (I have a wicked startle reflex since becoming blind), and then carefully rode by while I stepped off the bridle path.

But mostly now I regret not sharing the walk at the time.

My photos that day started with this early lilac blossoming as though it was nearly summer (most readers of Terry Pratchett associate lilac with May after reading Night Watch in my experience the lilac starts blooming in mid April up to the end of May around my home town).

Left:- the tiny forget-me-nots with their blue petals around a yellow centre like an “o” of surprise.om r
Top right:- the cowslips, pale yellow and shy almost hiding amongst their large green leaves.

Bottom right:- Stinking Hellebore, so succulently green. I saw textures in my blur and loved seeing the balloon like structure of this bud when I looked at the photos on my iPad.

The classic lay my phone down to try to get a photo of a bluebell against the canopy of the trees using my Apple Watch as a camera remote and somehow getting a picture of myself (left) before almost getting the shot I wanted (right).

This was in the little wood (Lockleys).

Top 2 photos:- Crossing the huge field looking across it towards the woods (Harmer Green).

Bottom 2 photos are looking into a private wood next to me as I traverse the field, hence the purple being so dark and intense under the canopy.

And of course the object of this exercise:-

Walking under the trees listening to the susurration of the breeze caressing the canopy as base for the chorus of birdsong. Absorbing the pleasure from the dappled light dancing across the dirt paths, the fallen trees, and the soft purple haze of the bluebell carpets.

What now?

It’s time to lean into this message I shared with some friends.

Remember “to every thing there’s a time”.

Ecclesiastes 3 really isn’t just there to decorate the page.

Sometimes we have to accept that the thing we want to do now isn’t a high priority, or possible.

I’m reminding myself I had my bonus countryside walks when I stopped listening to the people telling me it wasn’t safe to walk solo as a blind person…

Now MS has stolen my mobility I can either celebrate what I did, or shout into the void how unfair it is I can no longer safely walk in a bluebell wood…

I’m not going to shouting anytime soon.

I enjoyed the purple haze and the birdsong while I could.

And enjoyed being serenaded by skylarks as I walked across fields to the woods.

There are people who have never had that chance

Until next time.