Summer and winter are all well and good, but it’s Spring and Autumn that have always got the poets and philosophers in a spin. And particularly Autumn, which Albert Camus called ‘a second spring when every leaf is a flower.’
He wasn’t the only one to wax lyrical about the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness (Keats) or revel in ‘the year’s last, loveliest smile’ (New York Post editor William Cullen Bryant).
Even the return of a chill in the air has inspired our greats to mention that ‘bracing tang in the air that sends the blood beetling briskly through the veins’ (P. G. Wodehouse).
And some have gone even further: ‘No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace/As I have seen in one autumnal face’ wrote John Donne, while Samuel Butler delighted in the fact that ‘what we lose in flowers, we more than gain in fruits’
Are they putting a brave face on things? Not a bit of it. Take a look at our Autumnal list of reasons to be cheerful and you’ll feel every bit as inspired by the new season as the great men of letters above.
Top 10 things we all love about Autumn
Honking geese in ‘Red Arrows’ formation
https://youtu.be/qEVpJK7pEPE?t=54s
Making crumbles
Fires
Leaves. So many leaves.
Hearty soups and casseroles
Murmurations of starlings
Conkers
Having the beach to yourself
Cobwebs covered in dew. At sunrise.
Putting away the lawnmower for the rest of the year
Video: Reasons to be cheerful amid the cold, doom and gloom
The weather is cold, the news grim... but we've been counting our blessings, from new Sherlock to British sporting brilliance.
Apple and blackberry crumble pie with amaretti ice cream
Apples are a firm British favourite and deservedly so.
Dog Tales: How Crumble became a Country Life frontispiece, found a husband and had five puppies
A brilliant lonely (dog) hearts ad for Crumble was shared by us at Country Life – and ended up sparking
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Five homes with their own orchards that will be the apple of your eye (almost literally)If you've been looking enviously this year at neighbours with apple trees that have been heaving with fruit, here is the solution: five lovely homes for sale that come with their own orchards.
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Where in the world is this? — and other pressing questions. It's the Country Life Quiz of the Day, October 14, 2025Test your general knowledge in Tuesday's quiz.
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Where in the world is this? — and other pressing questions. It's the Country Life Quiz of the Day, October 14, 2025
Test your general knowledge in Tuesday's quiz.
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How good is your Claudia Winkleman trivia? Find out in The Country Life Quiz of the Day, October 13, 2025What secrets lurk beneath that fringe?
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Release the beasts! The Country Life Quiz of the Day, October 10, 2025But where?
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Which English city has more miles of canal than Venice — and other pressing questions. It's the Country Life Quiz of the Day, October 9, 2025Test your general knowledge in Thursday's quiz.
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Jilly's Cooper's first book in the Country Life Quiz of the Day, October 8 2025Test your general knowledge with today's quiz.
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Wrap up warm for the Country Life Quiz of the Day, October 7 2025Test your general knowledge with today's quiz.
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Highlands, islands, bridges and walls: A geography tour of the UK with the Country Life Quiz of the DayDo you know your rivers? Do you know your walls? Do you know where puffins like to hang out? You will soon...
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Collective nouns, cheeses, and the 'Butcher Bird'. Start your weekend with the Country Life Quiz of the DayFeaturing lots of cute pictures of animals. Because who doesn't want that on a Friday evening.
