Bluebells Walk at Parrot’s Drumble Nature Reserve in Staffordshire

I love seeing flowers such as Daffodils, Tulips and Bluebells pop out of the ground at the start of Spring time.   This is such a wonderful sight especially after the cold and bleak winter months.

With longer daylight and sunnier skies, we often take the opportunity to head out on walks to discover new places in Staffordshire.  We have in the past spotted wild Bluebells growing at Knypersley Reservoir and at Rode Hall Gardens but were told that Parrot’s Drumble, an ancient woodland, was the best place to see Bluebells.  So over the recent Bank Holiday weekend, we joined some friends for a walk to discover this hidden gem which is part of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.

If you are wondering, ancient woodland is a phrase used to describe a forest that has been covered with trees since the 1600’s. This means the area has had special woodland plants growing for the last 400 years hence allowing the trees and vegetation to become established.  Parrot’s Drumble has around 12 hectares of woodland in its reserve.

As we walked into the nature reserve, you could see people walking on the trail, some areas were narrow and at times we had to walk single file but this was only for a short period. We were surprised to see blankets of stunning wild bluebells as far as our eyes could see alongside majestic trees and what a beautiful sight it was.   This is a haven for photographers, artists and bird watchers indeed.

On our visit, we noticed that the colour of the stream was brown, which reminded me of the Klang River in Malaysia (which is a similar colour due to years of tin mining).  I was then told by a friend that The Valley Brook is contaminated by iron-oxide leaching from historic mineworking in the area hence its unique colour.

The whole trails took us a little more than an hour, as we kept stopping to take photos and our children were enjoying climbing and swinging on the ropes.  The reserve is a wonderful place to admire the many different types of trees such as oak, hazel, birch, rowan and ash, with willow and alder in the wetter areas along the stream.

Why is the reserve called Parrot’s Drumble?

The reserve derives it’s unusual name from a combination of its previous owners, the Parrot family and a local term for a stream running through a wooded valley, drumble.

You may not see anything quite as colourful as a parrot but the woodland is a wonderful place for birds, particularly in spring.  Listen out for blue tits, willow tits, wrens and willow warblers. Both greater and lesser spotted woodpeckers are found here – listen out for them pecking holes in the tree trunks as they look for insects. Nuthatches and tree creepers can often be seen spiralling up and down the trunks of the mature trees.

When is the best time to see Bluebells?

April to May is the best time to see carpets of bluebells but you can also see dog’s mercury, wood anemone, yellow archangel and wood sorrel in Spring time.

This is a free entry reserve and it it open at all times. Dogs allowed, on a lead.

Where is Parrot’s Drumble Nature Reserve?

Parrot’s Drumble is not too far from Freeport Talke/Affinity Staffordshire.  We actually parked at the mall’s parking (free parking) and walked over to Parrot’s Drumble as there is only about 3-4 parking spots near the industrial estate from where the reserve is signposted.

Parrot’s Drumble
Talke Pits
Staffordshire
ST7 1UH (nearest)
Talke Pits

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