Who else has been feeling the chill this week? Although I make no secret of the fact that summer is my favourite season, do you know what, I’m kind of warming to these autumn vibes that are slowly creeping in like a prickly little hedgehog finding a cosy spot to hibernate.

Because of this, despite whether you call it autumn or fall, I thought I would share my list of 10 reasons to love this new season!

1 – Has to be the beauty of nature! How stunning are autumn leaves in their hues of amber, gold, orange, coral, crimson, scarlet and red. Admire a spectacular view of a patchwork of trees, especially when they are in that transition period of summer to autumn. Glowing red sunsets are so stunning in the autumn and last for a while this time of the year, it’s lovely to be able to watch as the sun slowly descends upon the horizon.

2 – Country walks in the autumn. As well as admiring the beautiful changing scenery, there is something magical about crunching your way through the woods on a bed of colourful leaves. Observe and appreciate all that Mother Nature bestows upon us when each season changes. Admire beautiful chestnuts and conkers, hedgerows bursting with blackberries waiting to be picked and turned into jam or crumble and watch the antics of our wonderful wildlife squirrelling away their harvest for the winter. I really make a point of walking mindfully while I’m out and about, if you get into the practice of doing this, you will be surprised at all those little things that you see and hear while you are out walking.

3 – It’s all about cosy and comfortable clothing! Welcome back with open arms all your cosy and comfy knitwear, soft and snug hats, comforting gloves and those old favourite boots and jackets once again. Once autumn is completely upon us there’s none of that “hmm shall I wear a strappy vest top or T-shirt?” No more dilemmas of whether you need to wear a long sleeved or short sleeved top. It is autumn and if you are in the UK, baby it’s cold outside and you will definitely want to wear long sleeved tops, cosy jumpers, cardigans, coats and plenty of layers!

4 – Comfort food. After a summer of crunching on salads and light bites, now you have every excuse to satisfy that carb craving as you savour tasty soups, warm crusty bread, stews, casseroles, shepherds pie, roast dinners, apple pie, custard, blackberry and apple crumble… need I say more?

5 – Cosy evenings in. Does life get much better than enjoying a lovely soothing warm bath after work and getting snug and cosy in your pjs and dressing gown, it’s dark, nobody will see you and especially at the moment with Covid regulations it is highly improbable that you are going to get any visitors coming round for the evening on an impromptu visit. It’s all about the fluffy and furry.

If you didn’t think you liked autumn, I hope I’m doing a pretty good job of selling it to you.

6 – Sleep. It is far easier to get to sleep and stay asleep for longer when it gets darker earlier in the evening, you’ve most likely had more time inside relaxing and unwinding before bedtime which also helps. With sunrise and being later in the morning you will probably sleep in for longer too, without being woken by the dawn chorus at 5am. Long gone are those restless summer nights in the relentless heat when you can’t cool down no matter how many fans you have in your home, windows open and just a sheet laid upon you. Enjoy proper sleep in a snuggly duvet, sumptuous pillows and a comforting throw on top for extra warmth. Complete and utter bliss.

7 – It won’t be long before we can get our heating on again. Ok, confession time we may have even popped our heating on today, it’s blooming freezing outside! We also have a ‘real effect’ coal fire, although we save that for really cold nights. It is wonderful to sit in the lounge with the fire roaring and sipping a warming mug of hot chocolate, with marshmallows if you wish too! Some might prefer a pumpkin spice latte, honestly is that really a thing? It sounds pretty grim if you ask me but if you have actually tried it and like it then I’m happy for you and would love to know the appeal, you can let me know in the comments if you like.

8 – Although these aren’t my favourite things, many look forward to Halloween and bonfire night. As a child I did used to love going to fireworks displays and being mesmerised by the crackles and whizzes and pops of the fire and surrounding fireworks, shaping my name and other patterns with sparklers. Although I do love a firework display, we don’t tend to go to them now as we have dogs, a cat and chickens. The dogs both hate fireworks, although we have discovered ways of trying to keep them calm when others are letting off fireworks nearby. You can read more about this here Top tips to keep your dogs safe and happy on bonfire night Our cat is now slightly deaf and we think the poor little girl has feline dementia, so I’m hoping this year she won’t be too scared and chickens – oh gosh do chickens get scared of fireworks? How well can they hear? Who knows! They will be safely tucked up in their cube but I wonder if I should put some blankets or extra layers on the outside of it, that would be awful for them to be scared of the noise. I’m guessing that organised fireworks displays probably won’t be allowed to go ahead this year but I’m sure that families with their kids will still have a few in their gardens.

9 – Misty mornings and crisp autumn days. How lovely is it to go outside on a slightly misty morning or perhaps observe the dew on the grass sparkling in the limited sunshine (if there is any!) and maybe (even if you don’t like spiders) admire the complexity of the intricate spiders’ webs covered in dew. It’s lovely to be up and about to see the sun rising and think about that lovely feeling,on after a brisk walk giving you rosy cheeks and chilly toes, of coming back inside to the warmth of home.

10 – You know we are near to Christmas! If you are like me, EVERY single year we will hit autumn and you’ll say, “this year I will be more organised” and have every good intention of starting to plan for Christmas, deciding what to buy people and even buying a few presents. Every single year, I have a genuine intention of buying my cards before we hit December and perhaps even starting to write them in October so there is no last minute stress and panic thinking I’ll miss the last posting date. You can guess how this usually pans out, which leads me to try and improve every year! Well we’ll see…

Now I’ve thought about all the lovely things there are to appreciate about autumn, it’s kind of making me question whether autumn should be high up there with my favourite season. I actually think we are really lucky in the UK as our seasons are so different and they each have their own special quality that even the most confirmed summer fan, or spring fan, would find it hard not to love the other seasons that we have.

What are your favourite things about autumn? I’d love you to share!