Bluebells and a railway ... and a tornado?

Dear Mr Postman .. Mum and I were thinking that you really must enjoy your delivery rounds at this time of year .. especially your rural rides .. I've been reminding my Ma about the bluebell and whitebell woods we had at home .. a small copse .. which became full of snowdrops, daffodils, celandine and then the blue and white bells at this time of year ..

Bluebell woods are so wonderful for having a spring meander or walk .. the great swathes of blue interspersed with greenery, where it hasn't been overrun by the flowers popping through, the canopy of trees almost in full leaf, but with the dappled sun still finding its way through .. and the chiff chaffs, blackbirds, tits, wrens, robins .. all singing away as birdsong is now at its peak - can you recognise any of the songs? The blackbird is up really early - before dawn .. singing away in his short deliberate phrases, with a much deeper and fruitier sound .. lovely to listen to.

The common (English) bluebell (see picture) is a protected species .. and the deep blue scented flowers are borne only on one side of the stem, with the top flower head bending right over. It is smaller than its hybridised cousin, mostly imported originally from Spain. The English bluebell woods are found throughout England and they are a common indicator species for ancient woodland and are likely to date back to at least 1600, still in Elizabeth I's time .. perhaps hunted through by her father Henry VIII and his court?

The Spanish bluebell now threatens our common bluebell .. it is fairly easily distinguishable, as the flower stem does not curl over so much and the flowers are somewhat larger, all around the stem and a paler blue, while there is no scent. The Spanish bluebell is native to the Iberian peninsula.

The bluebell railway - 9 miles - runs through the north part of Sussex .. and at this time of year travels through some of these ancient woodlands in Sheffield Park, Sussex. Steam trains operate on the heritage line - saved, managed and run by volunteers, under the banner of the Bluebell Preservation Society.

It is an amazing little part of our English heritage saved for the future .. they have managed to preserve 30+ locomotives and a collection of almost 150 carriages and wagons, most of them from the time before and between the two world wars: and in 1960 it became the first preserved standard guage steam-operated passenger railway in the world. A number of steam locomotives were preserved before the final cessation of steam service on the British mainline railways in 1968.

The steam train is making a come back .. in February 2009 the Tornado Steam Train arrived from Darlington in the north east at King's Cross .. the first steam locomotive to be built in Britain for almost 50 years has arrived in London. For steam train lovers, apple green colour lovers, small boys who love the poop poop whistle .. the video (1 min 40 sec) is worth a watch .. click on the Telegraph link here and to read the article.

Sheffield Park is a wonderful parkland estate, now owned by the National Trust, but originally was mentioned in the Domesday book and Henry VIII hunted and was entertained here. Its gardens were designed by Capability Brown, a great landscape architect, in the 1700s; but it is now known for its magnificent planting of trees selected for their autumn colour, including many Black Tupelos - native to North America.

The Bluebell Preservation Society continues in its restoration projects .. has purchased the trackbed of the abandoned line and continues with its long term future of development. The Bluebell Railway has been used for numerous television and film locations .. including The Railway Children, the Dirty Dozen sequel in 1984 with Lee Marvin, two Ken Russell films - for further information of the films, and on the Bluebell Railway see Wikipedia article here.

The picture of the restored Metropolitan carriages - shows why they were awarded the Heritage Carriage Award in 2006/7 - and are unique as a close-coupled set of vintage carriages.

No 34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair. Relaunched and renamed on 24th April, and entered public service on 25 April 2009 after a ten-year rebuild from Barry condition. 34059 is the only Rebuilt Battle of Britain Class locomotive to steam in preservation.

The information on the Bluebell Railway came from the Wikipedia entry, together with the pictures of the carriages and number 34059.

Thank you Mr Postman for this information .. my mother will be most interested and we can remember the steam train between St Erth and St Ives in Cornwall .. see my post on 28 February .. and there's a video to watch too .. she just loves her flowers and had a Spanish bluebell brought to her .. sadly they don't last .. and while she's in the hospital - they don't allow flowers .. which is such a pity.

Hilary Melton-Butcher

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