This week’s contenders in our contest to find the best picture of the bluebells in Wanstead Park (with extra marks for originality) are as follows:
First up we have this from Terry Ransome:
This from regular photographer Mick Terry:
Representing the professionals are these are by Vita Zorge.
And a first for this competition – a video:
Bluebell happiness in #WansteadPark @wansteadium @WeLoveWanstead pic.twitter.com/ZRlH4rT8vQ
— Alison O'Riordan (@Ali_ORiordan) April 22, 2016
More next week. Send your entries to info@wansteadium.com or tag us on social media.
Please make sure when you’re taking photos that you don’t damage any of the flowers – stick to the paths.
It concerns me that every time I go there, people are disregarding the keep to the path notices and are trampling the bluebells to get a good photo. The other day a woman had parked her pram in amongst them whilst posing for a selfie
Agree. And me thinks the little girl, cream dress, who has been told to pose among them for the professional shots is doing just that..
I agree. People trampling through them to sit and have picnics, take selfies and just wander through with the whole family. A lot of time is spent by volunteers putting the paths down so that the bluebells are protected for the future. Such a shame that some folk are just plain selfish.
Does anyone have a photo of the damage caused? Or if anyone goes that way could they get one? We’ll add a note into our original article making clear that trampling should not occur on our account…
I think it’s important to make visitors aware of exactly why they must not walk among the blue bells. It’s because they are bulb root plants whise bulbs are super delicate.
It’s not just that the flowers one sees above ground are trampled, it’s more long lasting than that — the pressure of your weight on the soil compacts the soil and damages the delicate bulbs so that they will not grow again in the place they were trampled. Where you walk or sit, they won’t grow again.
If enough people trample enough different spots in this wood, no more bluebells next year or after. You can actually kill off the whole lot this way.
Dawn makes an important point, the additional problem is that these are the natural English bluebell variety and are already under threat from the invader species; there’s a real need to protect the indigenous ones we have in Chalet Wood.
Once again for the reason why it’s important not to walk where these flowers actually are growing: it’s not just this year’s visible flowers a person is trampling, it’s that the bulbs are being crushed and that spot will come up dead in following years. Assuming that more reason’s “why” people have, the more they will see the logic and need in abiding by it.