Five vastly different locations with carpets of Blue. For has April of 2026 been the best year for the carpet of Spring that nature provides?

Spring of 2026 so far has been perhaps "the most glorious display of opulent colours that nature has provided that I can remember in the longest of time." And if you were to have a piece of music which accompanies Spring of 2026 then it would quite possibly be the following,

Either way though, Spring of 2026 has also been one in which despite there being 1/.A seemingly and rather short lived window of Snowdrops, 2/. Another seemingly and rather short lived window of Crocuses - well what happened after that? The delightful yellow glow of Daffodils arrived (and they have lasted an incredibly long time. Surprisingly enough there are some Daffodils even now in full bloom and clinging on, even though the rest of them have passed their peak). But after that what else arrived slightly earlier than usual? Well that of course is the "Carpet of Spring" and with that I mean Bluebells, those delicate and beautifully opulent flowers that are either A/. Purple/Blue B/. Pink and C/. White. And of course I cast my mind back to Spring of 2025 and that was an interesting one, for Spring of last year was warmer than usual, and despite there being some glorious display of Bluebells - well from memory they just did not seem as vibrant, as opulent as the ones from this year. And for me at least, well there are five different locations in which I have captured the delightful and opulent colours of blue, each place different, each place unique and below - well a little bit about each location and of course the photos that I have managed to capture.

Shipley Country Park/Shipley Hill (Horsepool Hill.

Shipley Country Park is one of those places that always has a certain something about it during each season, and of course it is also a location that I have visited throughout the years, each season and each year I always find that it transforms with the seasons, and capturing the beautiful colours of Shipley Park, well that is always a joy. But it was of course on Wednesday the 15th of April 2026, that a trip to Shipley Country Park was on the cards, and a walk around Shipley Hill, a location in which there is always a delightful display of seasonal colours, especially in the Autumn and Spring, but this time around, well it was of course the first glimpse of this years carpet of Blue that I had seen, and of course this year it looked even more spectacular than usual. 

"Bells Surrounded. A Nature Serenade."

"Carpet and Trunks."

"Through the carpet of Blue and White."

"Layers within the arts of Nature."

"Glorious Bells of Blue, Yellow and Green."

"Lying the Trunk amongst the Carpet of Blue."

"A Carpet of A Panorama."

"Green Glow, the Bells Shine Below."

"Bells at the foot of the Tree."

Smalley Crossroads, A delightful Woodland that always delivers, but somehow this time around.

It was last year, and the year before last that I had been pointed out a little slice of Woodland at Smalley Crossroads (just a little further past West Hallam/Stanley Common) and the year before last I was driving past and caught a glimpse of the glorious carpet of blue, of course that was back in 2024 and the day after I had to return and photograph that same bit of woodland. Last year of course in 2025 I also managed to stop off and also capture the delightful carpet of Bluebells within the woodland and in 2024 and 2025 - well the carpet of blue had appeared later on in April, this time around on Thursday the 16th of April 2026, I was back again, and after a short walk, here I was yet again looking over a rather small wall and taking the following photos of this magical and beautiful woodland, and below of course are the photos from that visit. 

"Light, Blue, Green, Through The Woodland I see."

"Bells of Blue, Wood of Smalley, Deer?!"

"As far as the Carpet of Spring."

"Shining is the Glorious Sea of Spring."

"Sculptures amongst the Carpet of Delightful Spring."

"Rolling Swathes."

"Features, Elements, a Woodland Spring Glow."

Watnall Woods, Untamed, Unmanaged and a Cathedral of Blue.

Watnall Woods is a place that I discovered during Lockdown. Situated between Kimberley and Watnall in Nottinghamshire it is surrounded by Suburbia and the sounds that go along with it. But when you walk down to Watnall Woods and enter this delightful woodland, immediately you are taken away from the sights and sounds of Suburbia and are immediately transformed into a woodland that feels rather removed from the stresses of modern life. For hear a delightful bird feeding station can be found with X2 Benches to sit and watch the birds, and a network of pathways albeit a small network of pathways enable you to explore this woodland which always seems to be a work of art, created, crafted and curated by nature - and whilst I have seen Bluebells in this woodland in previous years, on Monday the 20th of April 2026, well I was immediately taken into what I think was a "Cathedral of Blue." Untamed and beautiful were the Bluebells and well below are the photos that I managed to capture.

"Within the Frame of Green."

"Blue Veins in Woodland Spring Green."

"Through Spring's Woodland Green, I see a City of Blue."

"A City of Woodland Blue."

"Dances of Blue and Beauty of Spring Woodland Light."

"Colour within Hiding."

"Layers and Sleeping Giants."

"Blue Scene, Serenity."

"The Footpath towards Bluebell Spring Middle Earth."

"Bluebell Spring - a Watnall Woods Panorama."

"Through the Layers and Through the Elements."

Heanor Memorial Park, Surrounded by Suburbia and a Painted Park.

It had been a little while since I had last visited Heanor Memorial Park, and from memory, my last visit to this parkland was back in the Autumn of 2025 in October to be precise - of course back then it was a riot of colour. But since then seasons have changed, and Spring has arrived, and it was on Tuesday the 21st of April 2026 that a visit to Heanor Memorial Park was on the cards, surrounded of course by Suburbia, Heanor Memorial Park, was again a riot of colour with beautiful Bluebells, not to mention some incredibly opulent Spring Colours that just had to be captured.

"Spring White, Spring Bells of Blue, a Dappled Light."

"Along the Border of Spring."

"Within the Pink of Art of Spring."

"The Pathway under Rainbow Spring."

"Spring Arts a Glow, Painted is the Park."

"Spring Canopy."

"Under a Spring Canopy and Blue."

"Hiding, Dappled Light and Shining."

"Rainbow Hedgerow Arts."

"Little Blue, Little White a Glow."

"Down Below, where The Bells of Spring a Grow."

"Skyscraper's of Spring."

"As the afternoon Light cascades."

"The Light, The Green, The Bells."

Oldmoor Woods, A Managed Woodland where you end up forgetting that you are close to Suburbia. For is this Paradise? 

It was Nottinghamshire Landscape Photographer, Craig Yates who first told me about Oldmoor Woods, a little while ago, a couple of years ago from memory, and over those past couple of years I have always enjoyed a visit to Oldmoor Woods. Again it is a managed woodland, but one which is also left to its own devices in many ways, for it is located just between Strelley in Nottinghamshire and the fantastic Mulberry Tree Cafe, and the picturesque village of Cossall, another glorious hidden gem of a village. Yet Oldmoor Woods is one of those Woodlands that offers the photographer many various compositions, and each season, a certain sense of magic can also be found, the delightful sounds of Birdlife makes for a glorious soundtrack as the mind slowly forgets about the constant hum of more suburban sounds close by, and on Wednesday the 22nd of April I was lucky enough to visit Oldmoor Woods once again for its Bluebells. The only thing though is that under a mid day sun, with blue sky it made for more challenging photography, but did that matter? It most certainly did not and I came away with the following. 

"Within a Painted Spring."

"Spring Light, Spring Dark. Contrasts of Nature and Bells."

"Light, Dark, A Streak of Oldmoor Blue."

"Opulence of Spring."

"Falling into Springtime Blue."

"A Symphony of Delights and Blue."

"Woodland Dream. The Spring Light on Blue does Sing."

"Sanctuary and Serenity."

"Neon Arts, of Spring and Blue."

"Finding Blue and Mystery Light."

"Swathes of Blue and Trunks of Sculpture."

"Let there be a Carpet of Spring."

"Within a Spring Woodland Dream."

"Flanked on the Side in Woodland Spring Bloom."

"Delicate Little Works of Spring Arts."

For I really do think that this Spring so far, and especially Bluebell Season has been something else, something spectacular to behold, and whilst the Bluebells have arrived earlier than usual, what do you think of the colours of Spring 2026 and the Bluebells? Have they been more opulent than last year?