BLUEBELLS!



The first bluebell of the season



Sorry for the lack of activity lately folks, I have been off work with a virus. Back on track now though, and happy to have lots to update - starting with my favourite wildflower. Today, aroung 4.15pm, I found the first bluebell of the season out in flower near the clock tower at the back of the mansion. It's looking a bit lonely at the moment but its here, and there will be thousands more to follow! In a few more weeks, Attingham will be carpeted in blue - Rookery Wood (between the stables and the tea room), the Mile Walk and the woods between the suspension bridge and the Deer Park are all spots around the park with fantastic displays of bluebells. Ron, our Engagement Warden, will be giving guided walks later on in April to show visitors some of the best views. I have alerted the National Trust 'Bluebell Watch' and am now eagerly awaiting the rest of the flowers to come.

Other wildflowers are also making an appearance now, including these snake's head fritillaries and oxlips on the bank near the clock tower:



Snake's head fritillary - unmistakable with its purple

chessboard patterning



A white variation of the snake's head fritillary






 

Oxlips



The horse chestnuts are in leaf

Across the park and estate tree buds are bursting into leaf and the cherries and blackthorn are blossoming. I love the vibrant greens of leaves when they are young, particularly those of horse chestnut before they darken with age and usually become marred with leaf blotch in summer time. Today, the air around the mansion was filled with the scent of freshly cut grass - a definite sign that winter is over!

Finally, several weeks ago Attingham was visited by a group of Trustees and the Director-General of the Trust, Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE. They enjoyed a tour of the walled garden and visited some of the rooms in the mansion that have been altered as part of the Attingham Re-discovered project. My manager very kindly took a photo for me on the day, so here they are with some of the senior management team:

The Director-General and Trustees join us at Attingham
for the day