Bluebells feature quite prominently in English folklore and it is believed that to step on these delicate flowers growing beneath an oak tree is to risk the wrath of the woodland fairies, whose revenge will be to cause the perpetrator to become enchanted and die soon after. It was also believed that the bells rang out to summon fairies to gatherings and that any human hearing the bell ring would also die. In some parts of the country it is thought unlucky to take bluebells into the house, although, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is actually illegal to dig up the bulbs. Even in the language of flowers the bluebell stands for sorrowful regret, although on a cheerier note it also stands for constancy.
Robert Browning’s (1812-1889) evocative opening line from his poem ‘Home Thoughts From Abroad’ come floating into my mind on a blue haze. They so wonderfully capture the longing of a weary traveller for his homeland with the coming of spring, with the birds singing and the flowers blooming. The English countryside of Browning’s day may have been very different to that of today but who upon seeing a bluebell wood, a fragranced haze of misted blue in dappled sunlight, could fail to be moved by his sentiment.