A centuries-old bluebell wood usually closed to the public has opened today for one day only.
Margaret Wood in Upper Denby is a 32-acre stretch of semi-ancient woodland and pasture that becomes a carpet of bluebells every April and May.
The woodland, which is usually closed to the public, has opened to visitors one day a year each year for more than two decades.
The site is managed by volunteers from the Countryside Regeneration Trust who “nurture the flora and fauna and establish good habitats” for local wildlife.
Lead volunteer Andy Brown said the bluebells have probably been on the site as long as the woodland.
“It’s difficult to say when it formed but it’s classed as semi-ancient woodland so it’s been here since at least 1600.
“It might have been a small clump that has propagated itself by dropping seeds, developing into bulbs and forming a carpet throughout the wood.”
Mr Brown said he was expecting more than 100 visitors on Saturday, mostly from the local villages such as Denby Dale and the surrounding HD8 postcode.
He said they would be keeping the bluebells safe from visitors by marking out paths through the woodland.
“We have carefully marked out paths that volunteers have trodden which show the way to go with yellow flags,” he said.
The site is also home to hundreds of birds, deer and hare, he added.
“This time of year we’ve got spring migrants. So black caps, garden warblers, common whitethroat, you can hear robins, chiff chaffs, occasionally buzzards will fly over, great spotted woodpeckers, hundreds of different birds in the vicinity.
“We occasionally get roe deer and we’ve seen hares boxing on the clearing.”
Visitors to the woodland will be able to follow a marked trail between 10:30 BST and 15:30 BST after which it will close again to protect the plants and wildlife.
Volunteer Pete Foulston said it was important for people to be able to see the “beauty and magnificence” of the woods.
“It’s like a secret wood, which is good for the wildlife, but it allows members of the public to come one day of the year at its height and, like me, bathe in its magnificence,” he said.
Mr Foulston became a volunteer after visiting the woodland on last year’s open day.
He said: “I was so amazed at the beauty and magnificence that I decided to volunteer, so I’ve been coming for a year.
“It lifts my heart to be here.”
