Joining the fight to save a poetic emblem of the British countryside

I seem to recall a few years ago that the bluebell featured in this kind of tale, the threat then being from a Spanish variety of the flower which was far stronger than ours, much more invasive and very difficult to eradicate. Its powerful presence was a threat to our own more delicate flower; it would grow in its place.

Now, it seems, the humble and pretty bluebell is facing another challenge, this time from a weed known as alexanders. A team of 300 volunteers will be attending Kew Gardens in May, their purpose being to remove an armada of alexanders in the hope their actions will save the bluebell, which is the emblem of the British countryside.

At the same time, more volunteers will be undertaking similar work in other parts of the country. But exactly which bluebell is the focus of this activity?

Several British wild flowers are called bluebell, one being the harebell - bluebell is its Scottish name, although it is also known as bluebell in some areas of England. Periwinkles are also called bluebells in this country, but the focus of this renewed interest is that beautiful, blue woodland plant which blooms around this time to adorn many of our forest floors.

Thriving in dense colonies, its rich blueness produces a kind of haze among the trees and the stems produce a squeaky noise when they rub together. Perhaps a more positive name is wild hyacinth, although the plant has dozens of other names across Britain, ranging from wood bells to crows' legs.

In woodlands around this region, it can now be seen among the trees, although it does thrive in other places such as our coastal regions, open scrubland, mountains and along our hedgerows. It grows from a white bulb, with its head of several blue flowers hanging to one side from a single stem which bows slightly at the top. Tall slender leaves grow around the stem and the bluebell's height can range from about eight or nine inches up to about 18 inches (20-50cm or so).

The bluebell is protected by law and digging up the bulbs is a criminal offence - a few years ago, three convicted criminals were caught digging up more than 7,000 bluebell bulbs and were fined. It seems, however, that picking the flowers does not cause a great deal of harm.

A bluebell plant can survive without its flowers, but the problem arises when people stand on its leaves and crush them. The bluebell depends upon its leaves for food and when they are crushed the plant will die.

The bluebell does not appear in floral histories of this country before 1548 - it grew in countries bordering the Atlantic and was not known in either Greece or Rome, so the early herbalists did not consider it important. They ignored it, even though it grew in profusion here long before 1548 when it was known as crowtoes or perhaps crawtrees in the north.

It did have some use, however. The white bulbs were used to make a glue and the plant also produced starch, this being used to stiffen the fashionable and very elaborate collars or ruffs worn in Elizabethan times.

There seems to have been little or no value in the bluebell as a herb. It was not used for medicinal or curative purposes, although it did have symbolism so far as birth and springtime regeneration were concerned.

The poets loved it and went into raptures when it appeared in our woodlands, some referring to the noise the stems made when the wind caused them to rub against one another, and others referring either to the brilliant haze of blue or the faint honey-like scent produced by the flowers.

In thinking about bluebells and their future, what are the alexanders which are posing such a threat? This odd name is given to a plant which is a member of the parsley family and whose origins are in Macedonia, home of Alexander the Great. It is named after him.

The flowers, which are a dull greenish-yellow, are very like those of other wild parsley plants. In this country, it can grow to a height of almost 5ft and colonises wild open spaces, particularly near the coast.

At one time it was cultivated, but it no longer appeals as a source of food. Nonetheless, every part of the plant is edible, the leaves producing a fine sauce and the stems being rather like asparagus. The flower buds were used in salads and the roots were often a substitute for parsnip. It was also valued as a herb, its uses including a cure for flatulence and snake-bite!

Removing alexanders from areas needed by our bluebells is just one chore during May, which is the Environment Month in the Year of the Volunteer. Volunteers are being sought for similar tasks this year and details can be found on www.yearofthevolunteer.org.uk or by ringing Paul Donohoe on 02078 120037.

I was saddened to learn of the problems facing Hadrian's Wall, that magnificent structure which spans this country from the east coast to the west between Wallsend and the Solway Firth.

Regarded as a World Heritage Site, it was the northernmost boundary of Roman Britain and was begun in AD 122 by Emperor Hadrian. It took more than six years to build and was protected by towers known as milecastles because they appeared along the route at one per Roman mile (1,480m). The wall was 73 miles long, although not all of it is now visible.

The Hadrian's Wall Path Trail was opened to the public about 18 months ago and, to date, some 400,000 people have walked the route, either in part or along its entirety. This huge influx of ramblers is now causing extreme concern because, even though they are banned from walking along the wall itself, many are ignoring the prohibitory notices.

Contrary to advice and against common sense, they are walking on the wall's ancient and fragile surface, which is actually destroying the very thing they have come to see. There is a report of 800 Dutch visitors walking along the wall on one day this winter.

The problem is so great that the wall might now follow the fate of Cologne Cathedral - it could be placed on the World Heritage "in danger" list. It is one of 600 locations designated as World Heritage Cultural Sites and, although the countries which contain these sites are obliged to care for their heritage, there are 29 which are considered in danger. It seems their host countries are not caring for them.

The problem with Hadrian's Wall is how to stop ramblers walking along its surface. The point has been made that this ancient structure was never built to accommodate such a huge amount of people upon it. Certainly, the occasional sentry would patrol between the milecastles, but today there is not even that level of supervision upon the wall. I believe only one person is responsible for its entire length, the fate of the wall now being left to the great English right to roam.

It might be worth commenting that only about a third of the Great Wall of China is now left standing. The rest has been damaged by tourists, market traders and other developments such as rock concerts and motorways.

Tomorrow, April 30, is Walpurgis Night, when witches would trek to the hilltops for a glorious feast of eating, drinking and making merry in the presence of the Devil.

This custom had strong links with Germany, those ceremonies being essentially pagan, but an English nun called Walpurga (died 779) went to Germany and became abbess of Heidenheim.

When she died, her remains were transferred to Eichstatt on May 1. This coincidence led to her association with this festival, whose purpose was to herald the arrival of May Day with pagan ceremonies.

May Day arrives on Sunday and I am sure some of our local communities will produce their maypoles to give a colourful display of dancing.

Another local custom was a kind of April Fool joke known as May Gosling. Pranks were played upon one's friends before noon on May Day and, if the victim fell for the joke, he or she became known as a May Gosling.