01-Oct Guide to Autumn Splendor

Every Londoner should walk in either a mixed deciduous or beech wood in October because of their colours. Whereas summer reached its height in July, autumn now reaches its apogee in October. Other places worth exploring are old hedges in country lanes which abound in fruit and London’s tree collections including those in parks which are now at their most colourful. Sometimes there is an unexpected warm spell around the 18th October, St Luke’s day. In the past this was important as it would have been the last chance to bring in the harvest. It was called ‘St Luke’s little summer’ if it was short and either ‘St Martin’s’ or an ‘All Saints summer’ if it was longer. Swedes, turnips, beet and potatoes could all still be taken in.

It is generally a quiet month, sometimes with a profound stillness. Newly arrived birds in gardens may be heard a little more, but no full songs, and possibly owls at night. Pheasants can also be noisy as we see them crossing roads. Reared ones move shambolically whereas the wild ones are more strutting with their vertical tails. The most arresting sounds of the month are those uttered by male deer calling loudly, possibly even at night, to secure their harems for next year. The greatest spectacle of the month is undoubtedly the dramatic change in colour of the whole landscape as trees colour up and start to lose their leaves. These colour changes are even more varied in central London because so many foreign trees have been planted. With the centre of the city being slightly warmer, autumn can come a little earlier than in the surrounding countryside where trees may still be in full leaf.

It is usually in the third week of October these colours reach their zenith complemented by all the new colours of different fungi on the woodland floor. There is also often a sweet smell of decay, which is quite typical of October as is the smell of burning leaves.

It is the month for fruits, with hedgerows which were open and lime green in the spring now impenetrable due to scrambling plants.

Londoners have picked fruits from hedges for centuries, especially apples, rosehips, sloes and blackberries. Fallen fruit with their yeasty smells attract what few insects are around, especially wasps. Ivy flowers, still rich in nectar, tend to attract more flies whereas honey bees, which are now absent from meadows, are spending more time in their hives. Other insects are either laying eggs or sealing themselves in pupae to survive the winter.

Meanwhile, the great autumn migration continuous apace. October sees a number of ‘rushes’ where unusually large numbers of a particular migrant suddenly pass through the capital e.g. linnets, lesser redpolls or meadow pipits.

Some, such as golden plovers and redshanks, stop off on the tidal mudflats of the estuary to refuel where they can occasionally be seen at high tide. Most of our amphibians, reptiles and mammals are already thinking of hibernating.

At some date in October all of London’s bats will have retreated to their winter hibernacula. Those animals which do not hibernate will still be collecting fruits and seeds either to build up body weight or lay down as a store for later use. The end of the month sees the much loved festival of Halloween. Fires used to be lit to encourage more heat in the dying sun.