Slender ribbons of woodsmoke rise from chimneys hiding among the ephemeral dawn mist. Cottage gardens, full of summer’s primary colours just weeks earlier, have been turned gold, ochre and umber by the falling leaves. In just a few hours, fires will be lit in wood-beamed pubs and hungry walkers will be tucking into bowls of warming soup in cosy cafés.
While autumn performs its annual miracle on our natural surroundings, the UK’s villages absorb and reflect these changes, helping nature turn November into “the year’s last, loveliest smile”.
No matter where you look – from Shetland to Cornwall, Fermanagh to Norfolk – the season is casting its spell.
AUTUMN VILLAGES
As the beech woods bring a coppery crown to the Chiltern hills, Buckinghamshire villages such as Fingest and West Wycombe are at their glorious best.
Perthshire has long
