Autumn walks and thoughts

So how has this past week been for you guys? I’ve just dropped the children off at school and preschool after the half term break, and you can tell that even in this last week, Autumn has DEFINITELY arrived, even if it was teasing us before with it’s unseasonably warm weather. Here, in SE London, we have fog, and a whole ton of leaves have left their trees, creating a beautiful floor covering of yellow, brown and red. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but I think Autumn is probably my favourite season. There’s something about getting wrapped up warmer (I’m a layering girl, fashion-wise!), but it’s not TOO cold yet, and once Halloween has been and gone then there’s that delicious anticipation of the run up to Christmas, whereby I allow myself to get a little excited but not peak too early. 

This past half term break was meant to be a relaxing one, but still ended up being pretty hectic. Sasha, Adam and myself all came down with a sickness bug at the beginning (Freddie escaped, he must have a stomach of steel and a hardier immune system than the rest of us!), so the rest of the week felt a little like playing catch up. We also had a load of furniture to assemble for our loft room and the new study (aah, Ikea, we meet again), which took until midnight on a couple of evenings, so we were pretty tired. We did some fun stuff though, like a trip to The Southbank and The London Aquarium, which was quite possibly the world’s hottest place, had friends over to play, carved pumpkins and made the annual Evans Family Christmas Cake that will be stored away until advent whilst being plied with booze on a weekly basis. My Dad also came to stay this past weekend, which was lovely, also I suspect he’s probably glad of having a rest now- our two adore him so can be quite ‘full-on’ and demanding of his time and attention!

The above photos were taken the weekend-before-last, prior to us getting sick, and were from a lovely Sunday afternoon walk in woods near where we live. We’re so lucky (I think) to call home where we are- we’re a really short train ride to central London, yet go 10 minutes in the car from out house and we’re in the countryside, despite it still being a London Borough. We really do have the best of both worlds. 

The walk through these woods that we do is about a mile each way, so we were pretty impressed with F and S, especially S who likes to use her favourite phrase “Carry me, please” rather a lot! I think they find exploring the woods pretty magical, and they’re always on the hunt for ‘logpile houses’ ala The Gruffalo! 

Something about Autumn makes these woodland walks so lovely. I don’t know if it’s the colours of the fallen leaves, the fact nature starts to become stripped back slightly so you can see more of it, or the lower sunlight reflecting on everything in a different way, but it really is beautiful. I love that slightly damp feel in the air, that makes reaching that village cafe and supping on a hot tea all the more sweeter, and then collapsing at home on the sofa after a long walk, and smelling the Beouf Bourgignon in the oven, all the more satisfying. 

I wrote last year about why I love Autumn so much, and looking back on that list, I still feel exactly the same. 

I’m going to allow myself to soak up the next month or so in all it’s autumnal glory, before my birthday and being to allowed to get excited about the festive period!

Do you love Autumn as much as I do?