Few sights delight the heart as much as a glorious crop of bluebells coming into bloom.
Huddersfield is fortunate in having many such crops including those in the Grimescar Valley and TP Woods in Gledholt.
The woods site has been designated as a Local Nature Reserve and provides an excellent place from which to savour them.
It can be accessed via Gledholt Bank, Heaton Road or Heaton Gardens.
And as the bluebells flower, campaign group Plantlife is markings its 25th birthday by running a national vote to find out the nations’ favourite wild flowers.
Rachel de Thame, Plantlife Vice-President, said: “Please let us know yours and be part of this very special celebration of our wild flowers and the charity that is working to safeguard them for the next generation”.
Plantlife is the organisation that is speaking up for our wild flowers, plants and fungi.
The Prince of Wales is the group’s patron.
The Bluebell is currently heading the poll as the best wildflower in England, with the Primrose top in Scotland and in Wales.
BLUEBELL FACTFILE
Proper name is Hyacinthoides non-scripta
A vibrant blue flower that features bell-like flowers with up-rolled tips It
It grows in woodlands, hedgerows and grassland.
The best time to see the is late April and late May.
Bluebells are threatened locally by habitat destruction, collection from the wild, and from the escape of the Spanish bluebell from gardens
The latter is a particular concern - during a survey around one in six bluebells found in broadleaved woodland was a Spanish rather than native bluebell.
