Glorious bluebells at Chedworth Roman Villa

These pictures were taken of the little blue flowers at the National Trust site by James Ball.

Chedworth Roman Villa is cradled in a beautiful Cotswold valley and remains of one of the grandest Roman villas in Britain.

Chedworth Roman Villa is located near Chedworth and is a scheduled monument.

It is one of the largest and most elaborate Roman villas so far discovered in Britain and one with the latest occupation beyond the Roman period.

The villa was built in phases from the early 2nd century to the 5th century, with the 4th-century construction transforming the building into an elite dwelling arranged around three sides of a courtyard.

The 4th-century building included a heated and furnished west wing containing a dining-room (triclinium) with a fine mosaic floor, as well as two separate bathing suites: one for damp-heat and one for dry-heat.

The villa was discovered in 1864, and was excavated and opened to public view soon afterwards.

It was acquired in 1924 by the National Trust who have conducted a long-term conservation programme, with new on-site facilities and cover-buildings.

The National Trust has some fascinating facts about bluebells.

On the National Trust website it says: "Many myths surround the bluebell, although for such a heart-lifting flower the folklore is rather gloomy. There was a belief that bluebells were used in witches’ potions.

"Others believed that anyone who wanders into a ring of bluebells will fall under fairy enchantment, or that anyone who hears the ringing of the flower’s bell will be visited by a malicious fairy and die soon after."

The website says bluebells are a delicate wild flower which has played an influential role in folk culture too, and some of the names it's been given offer an insight.

The earliest British botanists called them crowtoes, but they’ve also been called cuckoo’s boots, wood hyacinth, lady’s nightcap and witches’ thimbles.