The Isabella Plantation

Protected by a deer-proof enclosure, the Isabella Plantation is an extensive woodland area within Richmond Park whose narrow streams and winding paths are lined with one of the country’s largest azalea collections as well as many other exotic and ornamental trees and shrubs. Every year from late April to early May the multicoloured azalea blossom reaches a peak, attracting large numbers of visitors such as myself. It’s difficult to do justice to this perfumed spectacle, and many years of trying have yielded only a few really good days. The more abundant mists of early April tend to diminish by the time the majority of the blossom is out, but with some very early starts I’ve managed to catch just a hint of it, softening the May morning sun. The Isabella Plantation has a second, lesser known peak of colour in autumn, and as some of these photographs show, the weather conditions can be very good.

Over the last two seasons, the Rush Oak view camera, partly designed with Isabella in mind, has seen extensive use.