IT IS dark by five. The temperature is dropping. It's time for soup, hot water bottles and woolly scarves.

November can be a bleak time of year - the magic of Christmas too far away to get excited about, long hot summer nights a distant memory.

But there is little of the grey about this late autumn with reds, oranges and yellows everywhere you look.

Trees, far from having lost their golden glory, are still glowing. This is being mooted as the most beautiful autumn in years. Time to pull on your wellies and enjoy!

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