Goodbye to my favorite time of the year once again

 

 

 

 

 

Goodbye to my favorite time of the year once again –   Winter around the corner, but that autumnal equinox, marking the end of summer and the start of fall across the Northern Hemisphere will end early. And 2014 appears to be the year we reach peak pumpkin spice. Autumn is the season of harvests, festivals, migrations, winter preparations, and of course, spectacular foliage. Across the north, people are beginning to feel a crisp chill in the evening air, leaves are splashing mountainsides with bright color, apples and pumpkins are being gathered, and animals are on the move. Collected here are some early images from this year's autumn - more will come later as the season unfolds. Until then, you might find me out for a stroll, enjoying the season. After one of the warmest autumns on record, the first of the winter weather appears to have set in with parts of the country dropping to below freezing today on the last weekend before December. Snow will dust parts of the country next week with widespread frost and mist expected throughout the UK following months of balmy conditions and rain. This autumn is thought to be the third warmest on record in the UK, with the average temperature a mild 10.8C. The unseasonable warmth is finally at an end however, with cold clouds gathering over Scotland expected to sweep the rest of the country on Monday, marking the beginning of the frosty weather.   +21 A clear and crisp start was seen in most parts of the country this morning with temperatures plummeting as the first of the winter weather takes hold. Sunrise over water in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, today on the last weekend before December +21 Dawn in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, where temperatures remained around 8C like most of the country at 6am today. Cooler conditions were seen elsewhere, with parts of Scotland dipping as low as -1C +21 Pink and purple skies lit up Abingdon, Oxfordshire (pictured), where warmer temperatures gave way to crisper conditions this morning +21 After one of the warmest autumns on record and heavy rainfall, clear and bright conditions are expected throughout the UK in the first week of December. The sun rises over Canterbury, Kent, this morning, where a light mist fell over the town +21 Pink and orange skies over Reigate in Surrey this morning. Temperatures could plummet to as low as -3C overnight in rural areas next week +21 The last of the autumn sunshine this morning in Reigate, Surrey. Dry and cold conditions are due to set in next week across the UK Temperatures could dip as low as -2 or -3C in rural parts during on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Met Office said today. This morning the coldest temperature was recorded in Scotland where it was -1.3C in Aviemore. Much of England and Wales enjoyed a milder night, with minimum temperatures of 7 and 8C across large parts of the country. Bournemouth and Southampton were warmer still at around 11C at 6am today. However a large, frosty front will sweep over the country next week after dumping the first of the winter snow in Scotland. 'While all the cloud maintains itself in northern parts, there are outbreaks of showery rain in the north and subsequently the temperatures are more suppressed as it pushes its way south eastwards (over England and Wales), weakening all the while,' said Met Office forecaster Calum MacColl. 'We'll see some mist and fog developing across central and south eastern England where it'll be a dull, dull start tomorrow. 'Some fog may linger while further north it brightens up later. The colder weather won't show its hand until Monday, pushing south eastwards increasing the risk of frost.' The weekend will be warmer than average for the time of year but temperatures will start to drop towards the December average of 6C from Monday. Met Office meteorologist, Greg Dewhurst, added: 'We could possibly see a little bit of snow on the highest ground of the Highlands on Monday night from incoming showers. 'Elsewhere, most places will be cold and dry and there will be some mist and fog about too.' Forecaster Nicola Maxey said: 'On Saturday we are looking at highs of 13C or 14C during the day, which we will see in the south of England. We may possibly even see 15C. 'In Northern Ireland we are looking at highs between 11C and 12C, 9C and 11C in the North East, and similar temperatures in Scotland.  +21 Frost and mist rolled over the Peak District (pictured) yesterday morning where temperatures were cooler than in parts of the south +21 Highland cows in the Peak District bear the brunt of the frost, which swept in this week, and it's only set to get colder as December approaches +21 A cyclist crunches over frosty terrain yesterday on his way to work in Nottinghamshire where the first of the winter weather was seen +21 The average temperature for November is 9C, but this weekend will see temperatures reach a milder 11C to 12C on Saturday across the UK. In Nottinghamshire fields were dusted with a light frost +21 The cold front will start off in Scotland in early hours and move slowly down, passing South West around midnight, according to forecasters. Mist rose over the River Avon in Malmesbury yesterday morning +21 The mist rises around Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire, which basks in a red light from the rising sun, as colder winter weather creeps in +21 A misty start for deer in Richmond, south-west London, as they embrace the colder temperatures while the country heads towards winter 'The average temperature for the UK in November is 9C, so we are still looking at above average temperatures. 'On Sunday we will see a slight drop in temperatures, for example London and the South will be looking at highs of 11C or 12C, and between 10C and 11C in Scotland. 'On Monday we will start to see temperatures drop throughout the UK. The average temperature for December throughout the UK is 6C, so we are still looking at above average temperatures throughout the week, so for instance we are looking at temperatures between 8C and 9C in London on Monday. 'But temperatures will drop slightly throughout the week, moving closer towards the average temperature for the month. 'However, we have an area of high pressure over the UK and we are likely to see nice weather throughout the week. We are looking at periods of sunshine in between the clouds, and we are looking at nice, dry winter days.' +21 Some parts of the country could see snow on Monday night as temperatures drop to December average. Pictured, a foggy start in Cambridge +21 Cyclists in Cambridge on a foggy November morning, where temperatures were milder than average, making it likely that this month could be one of the warmest November's on record +21 A couple walk their dog in the park in Cambridge as the fog hangs low. The first half of November also saw slightly higher than usual rainfall The mean temperature between September 1 and November 25 was 10.8C, which is 1.4C above average, meaning it currently ranks behind 2006 (11.4C) and 2011 (11.3C) in the digital UK records dating back to 1910. The mild conditions through autumn follow on from a generally warm year overall, with all months except August having seen above average temperatures. +21 Balmy: Sun-seekers in London's Green Park exactly a month ago as the mercury hit 21C in a glorious blast of Indian summer sunshine +21 Sitting and lying: Visitors enjoyed the surprisingly warm weather in St James's Park, central London, as they sat among the fallen leaves +21 Reading the paper: A man and woman at Friars Cliff, near Christchurch in Dorset, at the end of October as temperatures were balmy +21 Just a week before the country was battered by Hurricane Gonzalo, which caused devastation across the country. Pictured, huge waves hit the seafront in front of the famous Blackpool Tower on October 21     A deer bugles in the morning mist in Richmond Park in London, England, on September 23, 2014. Tuesday marked the autumn equinox where day and night are of equal lengths. (Rob Stothard/Getty Images) 2 Aspen trees on FSR 612 at North Kaibab Ranger District, near the Grand Canyon in north-central Arizona, on September 21, 2014.(David Hercher/U.S. Forest Service, Kaibab National Forest) # 3 Farmer Harald Wenske transports pumpkins on a punt over a river near Lehde, Germany, on September 23, 2014.(Patrick Pleul/AFP/Getty Images) # 4 The Harvest Moon rises behind the lighthouse on the breakwater of Valletta's Grand Harbour in Malta on September 9, 2014.(Reuters/Darrin Zammit Lupi) # 5 Mist lingers in Hope Valley at sunrise viewed from the top of Mam Tor in the Peak District in Castleton, United Kingdom, on September 10, 2014. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) # 6 Leaves develop autumnal colors on the Tu Hwnt ir Bont Tearooms in Llanrwst, Wales, on September 20, 2014.(Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images) # 7 Canada geese walk in a corn field on a foggy morning in Stuyvesant, New York, on September 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) # 8 Gardener Silvia Manteuffel measures her giant pumpkin in a garden near Fuerstenwalde, Germany, on September 18, 2014. Her first attempt of growing a pumpkin led to the giant plant weighing around 260 kilograms. (Patrick Pleul/AFP/Getty Images) # 9 A cyclist rides through the morning light in Richmond Park in London on September 23, 2014. (Rob Stothard/Getty Images) # 10 A drone flies over vineyards of the Pape Clement castle, belonging to Bordeaux winemaker Bernard Magrez in the southwestern French town of Pessac on September 9, 2014. Magrez is the first winemaker to use a drone equipped with an infrared camera to determine the optimal maturity of the domain's grapes and thus harvest them at different times. (Jean Pierre Muller/AFP/Getty Images) # 11 A picker collects grapes during the harvest on September 17, 2014 in the Marquis de Montmelas domain in Montmelas-Saint-Sorlin, France. (Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images) # 12 Fall colors are reflected on Rock Lake near Pillager, Minnesota, on september 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt) # 13 Sunset in a wheat field of the Solgonskoye farming company in the village of Solgon, southwest from Krasnoyarsk, Russia, on September 6, 2014. (Reuters/Ilya Naymushin) # 14 A red deer in the morning light in Richmond Park in London on September 23, 2014. (Rob Stothard/Getty Images) # 15 Ripening chilies at an organic farm in Eggersdorf, Germany, on September 19, 2014. (Patrick Pleul/AFP/Getty Images) # 16 A man selects wine-grapes with a pruning shear on September 11, 2014 at the Muscadet vineyards of the Landron domain, in La Haie-Fouassiere, near Nantes, western France. (Jean-Sebastien Evrard/AFP/Getty Images) # 17 Bavarian farmers escort their herd during the traditional "Almabtrieb" in Bad Hindelang, about 180km (110 miles) south of Munich, on September 11, 2014. (Reuters/Michael Dalder) # 18 A waitress serves beer during the opening of the traditional Bavarian Oktoberfest festival at the Theresienwiese in Munich, Germany, on September 20, 2014. (Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images) # 19 Fall Foliage on Steens Mountain in southeastern Oregon. (Kelly Hazen/Bureau of Land Management) # 20 Members of the Platteview High School football team practice surrounded by fields of soybean and corn in Springfield, Nebraska, on September 10, 2014. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik) # 21 A mixture of wild and hatchery-raised sockeye salmon in Redfish Lake in central Idaho, on September 10, 2014. More endangered sockeye salmon have made the 900-mile journey from the Pacific Ocean to central Idaho's high-elevation Redfish Lake this fall than in any previous year going back nearly six decades. (AP Photo/Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game, Chris Kozfkay) # 22 A French farm worker harvests apples in an apple orchard at the Verger d'Epinoy near Cambrai, France, on September 3, 2014.(Reuters/Pascal Rossignol) # 23 Ducks and geese are seen through the morning mist on the lake at sunrise in Richmond Park on September 23, 2014 in London, England.(Rob Stothard/Getty Images) # 24 A combine harvester and a tractor with trailers work after sunset on a wheat field at the Solgonskoye farming company in the village of Solgon, southwest from Krasnoyarsk, on September 6, 2014. (Reuters/Ilya Naymushin) # 25 The silhouette of a stag at nightfall in a foggy prairie near Yvoy-le-Marron, France, on September 16, 2014.(Reuters/Philippe Wojazer) # 26 Ferns glow in the morning light in Richmond Park on September 23, 2014 in London, England. (Rob Stothard/Getty Images) # 27 A fishermen's camp on the bank of the Yenisei River in the Taiga district outside Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, on September 22, 2014.(Reuters/Ilya Naymushin) # 28 Cobwebs catch the early morning mist in London's Richmond Park on September 23, 2014. (Rob Stothard/Getty Images) http://

These are the stunning landscapes captured in Montaigut, France. during my September sojourn in Western Europe.     The German bombers appeared in the skies over Guernica in the late afternoon of April 26, 1937 and immediately transformed the sleepy Spanish market town into an everlasting symbol of the atrocity of war. Unbeknownst to the residents of Guernica, they had been slated by their attackers to become guinea pigs in an experiment designed to determine just what it would take to bomb a city into oblivion.   Photos exposed the beauty of Great Britain in autumn. Travelling across Britain, photographer Julian Elliott, originally from Salisbury, began his adventure in the middle of September and finished it this month. It required plenty of patience as a great deal of his time was spent watching the weather and waiting for clear skies. +9 Photographer Julian Elliott captured this stunning scene at dawn on Mam Tor in the Peak District, Derbyshire +9 Mr Elliott began his began his adventure in the middle of September and finished it this month (pictured: Pont Fawr Bridge in Llanrwst, Wales) He captured incredible scenes in Dorset, Dartmoor, Devon, Sussex, Wiltshire, Scottish Highlands, Peak District National Park, Brecon Beacons, Snowdonia and the Yorkshire Dales. The 39-year-old photographer, now of Tours, France, said: ‘In some cases, the images were difficult to get. The weather is very fickle, as anyone who lives in the UK knows. ‘I had originally planned to capture the autumn colour across Britain during early November, but during a visit in mid-September it was obvious that autumn had arrived early in some place, with the leaves already changing.’ After moving to France four years ago, the natural beauty of Britain has remained close to Julian's heart. +9 Photographer Julian Elliott captured this incredible scene as leaves changed colour at Rydal Water in the Lake District, Cumbria +9 Mr Elliott spent a lot of time waiting for clear skies as he visited places such as the Sgwd Gwladus waterfall in the Brecon Beacons, Wales +9 The autumn weather tightens its grip over the Brecon Beacons mountain range in South Wales He said: ‘I used to visit Snowdonia every year with my grandparents; to see it again through the eyes of adult was great and it's somewhere I want to go back to. ‘Outside of this, the Galloway Forest was also a highlight. It seems to be one of those places where you can spend a whole day and not see anyone.’ He decided to pursue a career in landscape photography because of his love of the outdoors. +9 Photographer Julian Elliott, originally from Salisbury, now lives in France (pictured: Monsal viaduct in the Peak District, Derbyshire) +9 Mr Elliott decided to pursue a career in photography because of his love for the outdoors (pictured: Grasmere in the Lake District, Cumbria) He said: ‘Everyone that I talk to about my work has always been very positive. ‘You do of course get opinions about what you should and shouldn't have done but that's always going to be the case. ‘I think there are a lot of people who like my work as I try to keep it as natural looking as possible instead of adding all sorts of digital filters over the image.' +9 This stunning photograph by Julian Elliott shows autumn colours surrounding the River Teign in Devon +9 Mr Elliott's journey across Britain took him to this incredible landscape at Loch Garry in the Highlands of Scotland