Savour the splendour of autumn’s colours with a National Trust day out

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The sunny spell towards the end of September together with six months of high levels of sunshine have boosted the chances of a “spectacular and prolonged” autumn display of colour, according to experts at the National Trust.

The duration and intensity of autumn colour rely on lots of sunshine for trees to bask in prior to the season’s arrival.

Although the very dry spring caused stress to some trees, classic summer weather with good levels of both sunshine and rain has given trees the best chance of staying in leaf and retaining their full crowns until temperatures start to drop and colour starts to develop.

Warm summers with lots of sunshine, help to increase the leaf sugar content which, in turn, results in a range of pigments – from reds and oranges, to greens, golds and browns – as leaves turn.

The Palladian Bridge in Stowe Landscape Gardens, surrounded by shades of autumn (photo: Robert Truman/National Trust)

Tom Hill is the trust’s trees and woodland advisor for the south east. He said: “Judging by how the weather had been over the past few weeks I’d expect our autumn colour to be at its peak in mid to late October.

“A woodland may be ancient, but it never stands still – it is literally teeming with life at all times of year, not just above ground, but beneath our feet.

“The falling leaves nourish the soil and produce a habitat of their own, supporting billions of microscopic organisms that provide the building blocks for all life in the forest. It’s also a special time of year to appreciate the amazing natural architecture of our trees as their branches are revealed for the first time in months.”

The conservation charity cares for more than ten million trees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and looks after one of the largest populations of ancient and veteran trees in the world.

Simon Toomer, plant specialist at the National Trust, said: “Autumn in the northern hemisphere is one of the natural world’s great spectacles. It starts in the far northern deciduous forests and progresses southwards to the warm temperate regions over about a ten-week period. Our northern gardens and woodlands are therefore a week or two ahead of the most southerly.