Shropshire bluebell wood that inspired Shakespeare hosts fundraiser

A Shropshire event held in a bluebell wood which inspired Shakespeare has raised thousands for charity.

More than 250 visitors were treated to a magnificent display of woodland bluebells when they supported the annual charity Bluebell Walk at Soulton Hall near Wem on Sunday.

They raised £3,368 for people affected by cancer.

The walk was timed to perfection to see bluebells at their peak in glorious sprint sunshine.

All the money raised will go to Macmillan to support cancer patients in Shropshire.

The third annual event was organised by Shrewsbury Macmillan Fundraising Group, supported by the Ashton family, who own the estate.

Claimed to be the setting for Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’, the Bluebell Wood was open to the public for only the third time since the classic comedy was written more than 500 years ago.

“It was a very successful day with perfect weather and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Gillian Eleftheriou, a Shrewsbury Macmillan Fundraising Group volunteer. “The bluebells were stunning, a blue carpet stretching as far as the eye could see in the wood, beneath the unfurling foliage of the majestic ancient oaks.”

Visitors travelled to Soulton Hall from Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Ellesmere, Whitchurch, Telford and much further afield.

New this year was a Woodland Trail to help children enjoy the natural world around them on their walk.

Refreshments were provided throughout the day, including pre-ordered afternoon teas and a plant stall, selling garden-worthy, hardy perennials, again proved popular.

Soulton Manor was purchased in 1556 by Sir Rowland Hill, the first protestant Lord Mayor of London, who remodelled and extended it into the Tudor building seen today It is still occupied by his descendants, the Ashton family.

Sir Rowland himself is thought to be mentioned in ‘As You Like It’, referred to as Sir Roland de Bois whose sons, Oliver, Jaques and Orlando, are three of the major characters in the play.