Autumn

We are privileged in the UK to have 4 different seasons within a year, and I enjoy each of them for what they bring. However, Autumn is my favourite. Even though Autumn doesn’t officially start until mid-September, I always feel that the summer for me is over by 31st August. It is time to reset and think about new goals as the academic year starts. I love the balmy days, the cooler nights, and the changing colors of leaves, bracken, and heather over this period in the run-up to Christmas.

So, I am looking forward to many autumnal walks in the Peak District; climbing new peaks as well as enjoying my favorite ones which include Higger Tor, Win Hill, and Surprise View. This is also a new era for Mike and myself with looking after Baggy, who is now becoming more elderly and much slower. I will always treasure those memories of long walks when he was a younger dog, full of energy and never seeming to tire, but now he just takes life at a more leisurely pace with some days of just “dead slow” and “stop.” He is loving his retirement and so while Mike, Ernie, and I will be out discovering new peaks, Baggy will have a quiet snooze, dreaming of being a younger dog, but quite content with just two smaller length walks a day with an awful lot of sniffing every blade of grass. He does, though, love blackberries as do Mike and I, so I hope you manage to find those walks where you can gorge on these wonderful berries or pick them and take them home for crumbles!