One of the surprises on our walk through the heather last weekend was that there are still a few patches of bell heather in flower. Bell heather normally flowers up to a month before the main crop of ling, and by the time the ling appears in flower the bell heather flowers have mainly died. However there were still a few patches of bell heather, like the one in this shot, in flower.
Bell heather is named after the shape of its flowers. It has a much stronger colour than the ling. There is usually a nice display along the roadside soon after leaving Hutton le Hole northwards towards Blakey Ridge. It is probably a good thing that the ling is a much paler heather - if it was a simular colour to the bell heather a carpet of it would be quite overpowering!
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
I hope you have all enjoyed this brief look at the heather on the North York Moors. It is unlikely we will have another chance to walk through it this year, since the coming weekend is the last weekend of the Moorsbus for 2023. Hopefully we might get a chance to take a few photos of the heather from the bus as we pass over the moor tops on a day out on the last weekend of the service.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
I hope you have all enjoyed this brief look at the heather on the North York Moors. It is unlikely we will have another chance to walk through it this year, since the coming weekend is the last weekend of the Moorsbus for 2023. Hopefully we might get a chance to take a few photos of the heather from the bus as we pass over the moor tops on a day out on the last weekend of the service.
Ian
Thank you Vesna - it is lovely to see the heather in flower!
Ian