Cliveden is one of my closest National Trust properties to visit, and I read a few years ago (in 2018) that Cliveden is one of the best places to see bluebells. I was not able to get there that year, so I wrote it in the diary for the following year. When 2019 came around, I planned the visit with friends, but we ended up walking around the rest of the estate instead; we did not get too long before closing, and it's such a large estate anyway. And, we all know what happened last year, so this year I finally got my opportunity.
My favourite part of Cliveden is the water garden. The little ponds are picturesque with a pagoda in the middle and colourful plants. There were some bluebells growing here, and there are blue ones, pink ones, white ones and paler blue ones. The trees were out in blossom and mid-leaf during my visit in mid-May.
To see the bluebells, you can park at the Cliveden woodlands parking or park at the main car parking. Since there are still timed ticket entry, I was unsure if the woodlands car parking would be open, so we parked in the main parking area for Cliveden and had a trek to the far side of the estate where the bluebells are. There were two walks on the map, and one of these was closer to the main part of the estate in a loop walk. The other was located in the woodlands area in a loop walk. I was able to cover nearly both walks during my visit, but I did not venture into part of the loop deep in the forest by the playground area.
There were some patches of bluebells along the main walkway and another couple of patches near the main estate, but these were not as extensive as others I have seen this year, nor did it rival Ashridge Estate, which is so far my favourite place for bluebells. (You can read about my visit to Ashridge here: bluebell forests at Ashridge Estate in Hertfordshire).
Actually, the best place for bluebells at Cliveden was not even on their bluebell walk map! This area is along the long walk but closer to the woodlands entrance. It's located off to the side of the main walkway but very noticable from the walkway. Unfortunately, I saw a family in the middle of the bluebells taking photographs, which you are not supposed to do because trampling them kills them so that they will not come up next year. Unfortunately, this is why they need signage and which is why other properties did include signage and/or roped walkways in the bluebell woods.
After wandering around the main bluebell area that was not on the map, I joined the walk on the woodlands trail. I saw scatterings of bluebells and small pockets of them around this woodlands walk and along the ridge of the hill, but it was not a large amount of them. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed as the woodlands area was meant to be the place to see the bluebells.
However, I was able to get some much-needed exercise after the many months we have had in this existance we are currently thrown into. I looked around the water gardens at the end of my visit and admired the blossoms.
On the way back toward the parking, I saw a pheasant wandering around. I wonder if it was the same one that I saw earlier in the spring. It did not take much notice of us and was more interested in pecking at insects and worms in the grass.
More posts in this blog about Cliveden House can be seen below:
Early Spring Visit to Cliveden House (National Trust, Buckinghamshire): Lockdown Edition
A Visit to Cliveden (National Trust): Lockdown Edition
A Visit to Cliveden House (Buckinghamshire, England)
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