Snowdrops
Each February the display of snowdrops at Lydiard Park is a spectacle that many people travel miles to see. The snowdrops cloak all the woods of the park and can also be seen down by the lake and in front of the stable buildings. Snowdrops are not native to the UK, although exactly when they were introduced is unclear. It’s thought they may have been grown as an ornamental garden plant as early as the 16th century, but were not recorded in the wild until the late 18th century. Many of the Lydiard snowdrops are the wild variety Galanthus Nivalis.
Before the 2nd World War the late Alice Smith remembered walking across the snowy fields with her classmates from Ferndale Junior School to pick snowdrops at Lydiard Park. Old Lady Bolingbroke would wave from the house and the children returned home with posies for their mothers – practically an 8 mile round trip!
Picking wild flowers is not permitted today, and that allows Lydiard’s lovely carpet of snowdrops to increase each year, giving pleasure to thousands of visitors.