Autumn
promises a dazzling display of woodland colour as the summer wanes
- The Observer, Saturday 30 August 2014 15.03 BST
It's a certain feel in the air, a chill to the morning and noticing the sun has gone down by 8pm. British summer is drawing to a close, even if we are promised a few days of warmer weather ahead.
Monday is the first of September, seen by the Met Office as the first day
of autumn because they give each season a strict three months to run their
course and plot their records accordingly. Astronomers and Druids – with their
constellations and solstices – point to the autumn equinox, which starts around
21 or 22 September, as the calendar's seasonal shifting moment.
The cafe and trails of the forest park are busy with families on these, the last few days of the school holidays. Britain's love affair with woodlands is clear, as small children find secret places, underneath a tree's vast canopy or in a narrow avenue of towering dark leylandii.
"Over the past decade or so we have seen autumn advance, with some fruiting occurring as much as two to three weeks earlier than at the turn of the century. This indicates how plants and trees are responding to climate change, which also means our wildlife has to adapt to the early appearance of many of its food sources."
Even if the glories of autumn can't rouse you from a mourning period for summer, then rest assured it's early days yet – there is a month until the clocks go back (as British summer time officially ends on 26 October) and 115 days until Christmas.
