Blue is the colour

A carpet of bluebells will greet visitors to the country house when the gates open today for two weeks which celebrate one of England's best-loved flowers.

Renishaw Hall, the home of the Sitwell family for nearly four centuries, attracts thousands of gardening enthusiasts every year to its spectacular Bluebell Fortnight shows.

The flowers are found in the estate's nine-acre Broxhill Wood, to the west of the hall's famous Italianate gardens, and experts said they were expecting a brilliant display.

Mr Kesteven said: "This year promises to be a much better display of bluebells than ever. They are coming through spot on time.

"We think they will create an even more spectacular blanket of colour this year, as the weeds are coming through more slowly than normal due to the long, cold winter."

Bluebell Fortnight runs until May 9 and visitors will also be able to see the estate's Camellia Walk, which is flowering a month later than usual because of the snow.