Kings Wood, Challock
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 An incredible carpet of bluebells Every year at bluebell time there is one place that is always on our must visit list and that is Kings Wood. It’s a large area of woodland close to Ashford and the woods are so large at 1500 acres that many animals such as deer, badgers and foxes can live without too much disturbance from visitors. There is also a population of adders and slow worms living in a secluded spot that we have visited in the past. The woods are said to have been a hunting ground of King Henry VIII. The forestry commission manage the woods and an "Arts in the Environment" project reflecting the living landscape in a creative way can be found in one area of the woods. It features sculptures which draw on the natural landscape and materials and creates art which works with the countryside. There is a walk that takes in all the sculptures but that’s not what we are here to see today. As you can imagine this is a very popular woods that attracts many visitors especially at Bluebell time but we know of a walk where we get to see plenty of bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) and avoid all the crowds by parking not in the main car park but at the end of a small road called Mountain Street that you get to from the village of Chilham. Then by following the North Downs way for a while you soon reach some of the most stunning bluebells you will ever see.  A single bluebell Not only are there dense patches of bluebells growing under coppiced Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) there is also an area under some mature Beech trees (Fagus sylvatica) and its an area where we always sit to eat out lunch as it really is a beautiful spot. When I look to find good subjects for macro shots I always try to find something that will create an interesting background and I was lucky to find one single bluebell growing on a bank with many more bluebells behind and using a tripod to make sure of no camera shake I took several bluebell pictures in both landscape and portrait mode that I was really pleased with. I knew right away they were what I wanted to achieve. One thing I nearly always do when taking pictures in woodland is use a tripod. The low light levels that can happen especially if under the leaf canopy can mean slow shutter speeds and then its very hard not to get an image that is blurred. So in the interest of getting the sharp images you really want using tripod is the only answer. It can be a pain to carry one with you all the time but the results you achieve by using one more than make up for it.  A mother with her lamb Our walk continued returning to the car using a different footpath which led us past some fairly new lambs. We sat quietly drinking some coffee for a while and it was amazing just how close these youngsters came to us to check us out. This is a wonderful time of the year when everything is waking up and each year you will say to yourself I’m sure the bluebells are better than the last. The fact they only last for a few short weeks make each year special of course and it’s a sight never to be missed.
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