Autumn catching up

It's been a funny year, as I've mentioned in previous posts, with flowering times all out of kilter. Even the leaves have taken a while to start turning, but suddenly they have been catching up.

Having friends staying with me last weekend gave me a good excuse to head off to the New Forest to check out the autumn colours there. Our first stop was Bramshaw Wood, in the north of the Forest - the colours were indeed beautiful on a slightly damp and grey day - typical autumn! Beech and bird leaves formed a colourful tunnel along forest tracks and footpaths, with few people to disturb the tranquility.

We then headed off to Bolderwood deer viewing platform, as we were still in the middle of the rut for both fallow and red deer. Alas, no deer at all, but the short walk through the arboretum contrasted well with the native trees we'd experienced earlier - enormous redwoods and more sweet chestnut, with far more people, in this popular spot in the Forest. At this point the rain set in.

The next morning we headed out for the excellent yomp up to Old Sarum - it was a very different day, with glorious sunshine and mild temperatures. The autumn colours were perfectly setting off the blue sky, with the usual beautiful views across the valley and from the top of the hillfort - I am so lucky to have this on my doorstep!