Barnaby visits a Bluebell Wood

Barnaby encounters his first Bluebell Wood and it fills him with wonder

Barnaby visits a Bluebell Wood

I am not sure if dogs can fully appreciate colour as we do, but be assured the do feel something when they are suddenly thrust into a bluebell wood on a warm day in May. 

Barnaby entered the wood with a rush (he enters all new things with a rush) then stopped and looked and looked again. It was as if the beauty of the scene had overwhelmed him.  It certainly overwhelmed Auntie Liz and me for even though it's a scene that presents itself year after year after year, that first sight of it in early May is still breathtaking - perhaps this year more than ever because of the cold winter that had gone before.

Bluebells

We were walking Pinsley Wood an ancient remnant of Wychwood Forest, close to Church Handborough, which once bore the name Pins Wood.  Barnaby has visited this wood before, but not when the bluebells are out.
There are many paths leading to the wood, we take the one immediately to the right of the Hand and Shears pub, which stands opposite the church of St Peter and St Paul, with its tall majestic tower.

You can turn left or right on reaching the wood and simply walk around the perimeter or take one of the many paths through the middle - as there are bluebells in every corner of the wood at the moment, it really doesn't matter which way you walk as long as you allow time to  absorb the beauty of this fragile scene which is over all too soon.

The pub is special too.  It is one I visit often as the choice of beer is always good, the food freshly cooked and particularly tasty and the service efficient and friendly.

Barnaby enjoys his nice bowl of tea

The lovely Eileen, who looks after the bar, knows that Barnaby will want a cup of tea when he calls and so begins preparing it the moment she sees my Mini draw up in the car park opposite. That's what I call service and something rather special in this busy world where so many places we visit are too busy to really care about our needs and certainly not the needs of a dog.

Because The Hand and Shears is in the middle of the Oxfordshire countryside and several miles from Witney or Oxford, they offer take away fish and chips which the locals really appreciate.  So do I actually, for although it means driving for a couple of miles from my home in Eynsham to pick up an order, the fish is so delicious it really is worth the effort.