Crunching leaves, vibrant views and the red-tinted, golden hues of autumn make this earthy season the perfect time to visit the UK's beautiful countryside.
Where are the best places to see autumn colour near you?
Forests and woodlands are an obvious place to start. It's hard to beat the sense of magic that you get when you walk beneath the kaleidoscopic canopies of oaks, beeches, birches and sycamore. Look for chestnuts on the floor and squirrels and jays in the branches above.
British parks, arboretums and gardens are also great places to visit in October and November, with many boasting statement trees that come into their own at this enchanted time of year. Then there are the hills and mountains, their flanks often blushing red with heather and fading bracken. And who can resist an autumn reflection? For this, our waterways, lakes and coastlines offer plenty of opportunity.
So, without further ado, it's time to lace up your walking boots and head into the countryside for an autumn stomp.
Why do leaves change colour in autumn?
From spring through summer, deciduous tress (trees that lose their leaves in winter) use a green pigment known as chlorophyll in their leaves to produce food from the sun’s energy by combining it with water and nutrients from the soil and carbon dioxide extracted from the air. This process is called photosynthesis. Leaves act like solar panels, exposing the largest area possible to collect as much sunlight and carbon dioxide as possible, which are converted into oxygen and carbohydrates (sugars) that are carried into the tree’s vascular system. Oxygen is also released into the atmosphere from the surface of the leaves during photosynthesis.
Fewer sunlight hours and cooler temperatures mean there is less energy to live and grow so the tree begins to shut down for the winter. Therefore, there is a reduced the need for chlorophyll in the leaves as autumn progresses. As the green pigment breaks down, other chemicals in the leaves become more prominent such as yellow flavonols, orange carotenoids and red to purple anthocyanins, and it is these that produce the stunning array of colours. It’s thought that some of these chemicals help the tree reabsorb valuable nutrients from the leaves.
Eventually, as nights become cooler, hormones in the tree seal off each leaf so that it will eventually snap off and fall to the ground.
Best places to see autumn colours in England
Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire
The mosaic landscape of reed bed, grassland and open water at Wicken Fen means the diversity in which autumn colour presents itself at this reserve is intriguing . In September the sedge turns russet, which becomes golden in the evenings as the setting sun shines through the leaves. This time of year is also ideal to spot some of the resident wildlife with Orb-weaver spiders spinning their delicate webs and bright blue flashes of Kingfishers diving into the waterways. Visitors may also hire bikes instead and take a long cycle around the fen, making the most of the autumn sun.
King Alfred’s Tower walk: Stourhead, Wiltshire
This is one of the most celebrated sites for autumn colour. A 5-mile walk takes you up through beautiful mixed woodlands to King Alfred’s Tower, a 160ft tall folly designed for Stourhead’s owner Henry Hoare II in 1772. On a crisp, sunny autumn day you’ll be able to catch the sunlight gleaming through the trees, making the autumn foliage even more fiery. As you return, don’t forget to take a detour through the famous landscape garden to see deep hues of red, russet and yellow reflected in the lake. After, enjoy a warming drink at the Gothic Cottage nestled among the trees.
Cardinham Woods, Cornwall
Cardinham is a beautiful mixed woodland. Stroll aside the riverbanks and enjoy the sight of the oak, alder, rowan and willow trees in strong surges of reds, oranges and delicate golds. For families this Autumn you can enjoy The Forest Commission's Gruffalo trail, whilst those seeking a more active visit can set off on the 12km Bodmin Beast cycling trail.
Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire
Travellers have been flocking to this riverbank in the Wye Valley for hundreds of years to admire the grace and beauty of the ruin of the 12th-century Tintern Abbey. The surrounding wooded slopes are particularly lovely in autumn, while close up, the ancient woodland, with gnarled trees and moss-covered boulders, looks like the setting for a Grimm fairytale. You can enjoy sensational views of the seasonal colour by climbing to a limestone outcrop high above the river.
Westonbirt National Arboretum, Gloucestershire
Home to more than 16,000 types of trees and shrubs over 600 acres of woodland, Westonbirt is a great place for a leisurely meander. Take in autumn’s natural firework display as the arboretum’s acers (Japanese maples) become ablaze with reds, oranges and yellows, while its delicate Chinese spindle treen turns a vibrate pretty pink.
Dove Crag in the Simonside Hills, Northumberland National Park
This autumn, take a walk through the beautiful oak woodland from Holystone to Dove Crag. Weave through the forest, rising to heather moorland scattered with stunning juniper and birch trees, which glow red and yellow against the heather. On a clear day you can see as far as the Northumberland coast.
Bodenham Arboretum, Worcestershire
This tranquil arboretum holds more than 3,000 species of trees from across the world. At its centre is a large pool with many rare and ornamental trees adorning its banks. Autumn brings a riot of leaf colour ranging from deep butter yellow through to orange, reds and crimsons as well as an abundance of berries. The many varieties of acer are particularly vivid.
Thorp Perrow Arboretum, North Yorkshire
Thorp Perrow holds no less than five National Plant Collections – of ash, walnut, lime, laburnum and cotinus (which has leaves the colour of red wine in autumn). The arboretum also holds 51 Champion Trees (this national scheme records details of exceptionally large, historic, rare and remarkable trees growing in Britain and Ireland). This collection of exotics results in a stunning seasonal leaf display of golds, oranges, reds, browns and purples.
Knightwood Oak Trail, New Forest
This stunning woodland offers up colours of red, orange and yellow in the autumn months, which look stunning against the backdrop of open heath and moorland. Hunt for the Queen of the Forest, the largest oak to grace the woodland with a girth of 7.4m (24ft).
Pocklington Canal, Yorkshire
Pocklington Canal is one of the country’s best canals for nature and virtually the whole length falls within one of three Sites of Special Scientific Interest. It runs from Canal Head near Pocklington to the River Derwent in East Cottingwith. Its over-hanging trees give way to colourful woodland pockets and hedgerows. As you travel along its length you’ll be able to hear wildfowl on the nearby nature reserve and spot late autumn dragonflies from the towpath as you admire the changing leaves.
Grizedale Forest, Lake District
Grizedale Forest consists of ten square miles of natural woodland in the Lake District near Coniston Water. It is famous for the many sculptures by internationally renowned artists, using natural materials such as stone and wood, made in response to the forest landscape. These can be discovered on an extensive network of walking and cycling trials, offering spectacular trips deep into the forest as it turns deep shades of red and gold in autumn.
Kennet and Avon Canal, Wiltshire
The Avoncliff Aqueduct is a stately spot to view the beautiful autumn colours of the Bath Valley. There’s a handy, but tiny and picturesque, railway station at Avoncliff and a riverside pub, The Cross Guns. The woodland here is a rich variety and includes oak, ash, sycamore, hazel and hawthorn. There are great views from the top of the 100m long Bath stone aqueduct taking the canal over the river. It’s a great spot to see bats flying at dusk to and from the tall arches of the aqueduct and wandering deer feeding on hedgerow leaves and berries.
Grand Union Canal, Hertfordshire
Veteran trees provide bright patches of colour along the Grand Union Canal as it passes through formal pleasure garden at Cassiobury Park, Watford. The canal follows the River Gade along the western side of the park separating it from the ancient woodland of Whippendell Woods. Its oak, beech, silver birch and ash, with areas of hazel, hornbeam, holly, hawthorn and wild cherry, create a superb display of autumn colour.
Leeds and Liverpool Canal, North Yorkshire
As the mill towns drift into countryside follow the Leeds & Liverpool Canal as it snakes from Bingley towards Skipton. At Farnhill there’s a sheer wooded cutting that provides an impressive ravine to journey through. With the North Yorkshire moors in the distance, each side of this tiny wooded valley and Farnhill Wood provide displays of beech, oak, silver birch, sycamore interspersed with some evergreen holly bushes.
Trent and Mersey Canal, Staffordshire
Fradley Junction is the meeting place of the Trent and Mersey with the Coventry Canal. Fradley Pool Nature Reserve is surrounded by native trees and offers a circular walk or a wooded canal side walk. Tree sculptures are dotted among the falling leaves and there are pond dipping platforms. The Junction is home to a number of listed buildings including the Swan Inn, cottages, bridge locks and a small warehouse with original wharf buildings – now an information centre and café.
Hope Valley, Derbyshire
The Hope Pilgrimage offers a three-day, 30-mile hike from Edale’s garden-of-Eden beauty to the now-thriving ‘plague village’ of Eyam, taking in Hope Valley.
Climb to high places and ramble through villages of caramel stone and jitties (narrow passages). Find peace and tranquillity in historic churches and rest up in elegant country houses, now converted to affordable youth hostels. Hope Valley is perhaps at its most striking in autumn, when the surrounding hills and woodlands turn red, russet and gold.
Best places to see the autumn colours in Scotland
Birks of Aberfeldy, Perthshire
The Scottish Highlands and more specifically the Birks of Aberfeldy in Perthshire is aflame in autumnal shades. The colours of an artist's palette for their perfect autumn scene prevails closely with a walker's actual view here in Perthshire. The Birks of Aberfeldy, a woodland split in two by the soaring gorge of Moness Burn is a hotspot for autumn delights this season and conveniently is located near the vibrant town of Aberfeldy itself.
Loch Katrine, Stirlingshire
Loch Katrine has wooed artists and poets for centuries – the Wordsworths and Coleridge, to name a few. And for good reason: extending through remote country for some eight miles and overlooked by craggy hills at its southern end, it’s a place of great beauty – particularly in the vibrant autumn months. Take an autumn walk to enjoy the views at their seasonal best.
Glen Affric, Highlands
nts of the pine forest that used to cover much of Scotland. For centuries the flanks of the glen were blanketed with birch,rowan and magnificent Caledonian pines.
Often hailed as the Highlands’ most beautiful glen, Glen Affric not only boasts shimmering lochs and rugged mountains, but it is also one of the largest remnants of the pine forest that used to cover much of Scotland. For centuries the flanks of the glen were blanketed with birch,rowan and magnificent Caledonian pines.
Best places to see the autumn colours in Wales
Llangollen Canal, Denbighshire
Starting at the Horseshoe Falls above the quaint village of Llangollen itself, follow the Llangollen Canal through to Chirk. Gaze across to the dramatic arches of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct which provide a picture perfect frame for the eyes. As you wander along the vale of Llangollen, the valley will be cast in a crisp orange and yellow hue of Wales' autumn trees and shrubs.
Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal, Powys
This canal is the most popular attraction in the stunning Brecon Beacons National Park, being one of the Canal & River Trust’s most tranquil waterways. The navigable section of the canal runs for 35 miles from Brecon to the Pontymoile basin. However, arguably the gem of this walk is the wooded landscape of beech trees which provide a mesmerising golden backdrop to the huge views of the Usk Valley.
Stackpole, Pembrokeshire
Experience Autumn's fireworks by the sea. A grand private estate now fully open to explore by the public, Stackpole provides access to some of the UK’s most beautiful stretches of coastline. Discover the clear water and sandy dunes of Barafundle Bay, take a bracing stroll along the wind-swept clifftops, or meander your way among the woods at the edge of the Bosherston Lily Ponds. Branches will be erupting with bright autumn foliage and if you’re really lucky you might even spot an otter.
St Mary’s Vale, Monmouthshire
St Mary's Vale is not your average wood and in the lead up to the Halloween season, this circuit is ideal for an eery autumnal walk. Few trees have attempted to grow straight with the vast majority abandoned long ago. Towering trunks have taken on strange, twisted forms that resemble something out of a Tolkien novel. Listen out for the gentle trickle of the Nant Iago stream, before taking the steep climb up to the summit of Sugarloaf – where you’ll be rewarded with views over a flooding sea of burnished reds, oranges and golds.
Best places to see the autumn colours in Northern Ireland
Glenariff Forest, County Down
Delight in the seasonal fireworks of ash, oak, beech and hazel that light up this wooded glen – and discover dramatic falls and pools. Glenariff Forest Park is set in Glenariff Glen, considered to be the most stunning of all nine of the Antrim glens. Its 1,185 hectares include two beautiful rivers, the Glenariff and Inver and a couple of truly impressive waterfalls amid the trees.
Tollymore Forrest, County Down
In autumn, burnt-orange beech leaves cling to ashen spurs, their increasing minimalism countered by majestic evergreens and low-lying reefs of mosses, liverworts and feathery ferns. The forest’s saturation and decay are palpable. The slopes around the Shimna River are home to a remarkable number of tree species, including oak, beech, ash, birch, larch, Sitka spruce, yew and willow. Field maple, Himalayan cedar, eucalyptus, Douglas fir, Monterey pines, monkey puzzle and giant redwoods can also be found.
The Argory, County Armagh
In summer the Argory’s lime tree walk is lush and green, but as the year winds down the avenue begins to turn, and soon you’ll find yourself strolling underneath arches of golden leaves. For the more adventurous, why not explore further through the riverside woodlands? Keep a watchful eye for some blackberries to eat or fallen conkers to collect.
