{"id":103,"date":"2021-11-01T15:51:30","date_gmt":"2021-11-01T14:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/?p=31049"},"modified":"2021-11-01T16:06:19","modified_gmt":"2021-11-01T15:06:19","slug":"best-of-the-british-countryside-in-november","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/best-of-the-british-countryside-in-november\/","title":{"rendered":"Best of the British countryside in November"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Daniel Graham\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 01 November 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

For much of the UK, November represents the height of autumn. The stag rut is in full flow, forests sing with seasonal colour and fires burn in cosy country pubs. It\u2019s also a month of mystery; a time when strange creatures \u2013 witches, monsters and fairy folk \u2013 haunt our woodlands, coasts and hills.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve come across some spectacular landscapes, wildlife highlights and rural stories while putting together our November issues of BBC Countryfile Magazine<\/em>, from magical ruins and leaping salmon to the gilded woodlands of Perthshire.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

So, without further a do, here are a few November highlights from the British countryside.<\/p>\n

Mountain hares<\/h3>\n
\""mountain\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
White mountain hares boxing in snow-covered Cairngorm mountains\/Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Native to Scotland and introduced to several spots in northern England, mountain hares reside most commonly on upland heathland. They are a little larger than rabbits with a white winter coat that helps conceal them from predators.<\/p>\n

Look for these hilltop dwellers in autumn, along with many more upland animals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Leaping salmon<\/h3>\n
\""Leaping\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
November marks the start of the salmon run up both the Derwent and Rye rivers\/Credit: Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption> Alamy<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

November marks the start of the salmon run up both the Derwent and Rye rivers. The <\/span>weirs at Howsham, Kirkham, Nunnington and Duncombe Park offer your best chance of seeing them leap as they swim upstream to spawn (above). Otters<\/a> love salmon and a good population thrives on both rivers \u2013 best seen very early in the morning.<\/p>\n

Bats (top right) are still on the wing on warm evenings in late October. Try Ryedale Windypits, Nunnington Bridge or the old, hollow oak and chestnut trees of Castle Howard for sightings.<\/p>\n

Autumn is the time for fungi<\/a>, with mushrooms and toadstools (above right) sprouting up in woodlands, especially those with ancient trees, such as Duncombe<\/span> Park. Late November sees the arrival of winter wildfowl to Castle Howard Great Lake and Newburgh Priory Lake.<\/p>\n

Autumn lakes<\/h3>\n
\""Autumn\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
A view across Tarn Hows in the English Lake District in autumn\/Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

A moment of golden tranquillity at one of the Lake District<\/a>\u2019s most visited sites. Tarn Hows is a small lake tucked in the hills just north of Coniston Water<\/a> and is associated with Beatrix Potter, who lived nearby and walked the lake shores and surrounding hills for inspiration. Tarn Hows is also called The Tarns as it was once three separate bodies of water. There is a gentle but beautiful walk around it \u2013 it\u2019s best to go early to avoid the crowds that are drawn here in homage to Potter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Autumn hills<\/h3>\n
\""Autumn\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The village of Dinas Mawddwy sits beneath wooded Foel Dinas and Foel Benddin\/Credit: Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Britain\u2019s landscape is covered with spectacular hills<\/a>, from the Cambrians in Wales and the Chilterns in southern England, to Northern Ireland\u2019s Mournes and Scotland\u2019s Southern Uplands.<\/p>\n

One of the best ways to explore this bounty of ridges, knolls and uplands in on foot. There are thousands of paths to choose from \u2013 here are a few our our favourites<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Standing stones<\/h3>\n
\""Standing\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The Callanish Stones at sunset\/Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The Callanish Stones at sunset on the Isle of Lewis. Situated on a low ridge above the waters\nof Loch Roag, the late-Neolithic<\/a> standing stones were erected by prehistoric farmers between 2900 and 2600 BC.<\/span><\/p>\n

Autumn lochs<\/h3>\n
\""Queen's\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Queen\u2019s View looks our across Loch Tummel\/Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

This vantage point over long and\u00a0 <\/span>narrow Loch Tummel in Perthshire<\/a> was said to have been Queen Victoria\u2019s favourite view on her route to Balmoral. But today\u2019s vista is not what the Queen would have seen; the construction of Clunie Dam at the eastern end of the loch in the 1950s raised the water level by 4.5 metres.<\/p>\n

Pheasants<\/h3>\n
\""Male\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Male cock pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) in full breeding plumage\/Credit: Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Vast numbers of non-native pheasants and red-legged partridges are released into the countryside each year by the shooting industry. The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) puts the figure at between 41 and 50 million birds. Of these, around 15 million are believed to be shot; a similar number are killed on roads. The rest enter the food chain, eating reptiles, insects, grain and shoots or being eaten themselves by foxes, corvids and buzzards. The majority don\u2019t survive more than 12 months. There is increasing concern among conservationists that the release of such large numbers of non-native game birds into the ecosystem each year negatively impacts native British species and the local environment.<\/p>\n

Autumn woods<\/h3>\n
\""Dering\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Aerial view of mist over Dering Woods, Egerton, Kent\/Credit: Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Forests are the lifeblood of the planet, providing habitats for myriad animals across the UK as well as helping to maintain the balance of the air around us.<\/p>\n

Ancient woods make demands on us: walk slower, be quieter, be still, listen to the age-old wisdom of trees. Age matters in nature, it fosters continuity. Continuity matters in nature, it fosters stable ecosystems. Stable ecosystems matter in nature, they maximise opportunities.<\/p>\n

Explore some of the UK\u2019s most spectacular trees and woodlands, from wildlife-rich Kielder Forest in Northumberland to the giant pine trees of Scotland with our guide to the best forests and woodlands<\/a> in the UK.<\/p>\n

Majestic ruins<\/h3>\n
\""Corfe\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Autumn sun falls on the walls and battlements of the historic landmark that is Corfe Castle in Dorset, England\/Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption> Getty<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

In Britain we have become so used to ancient forts<\/a> in our back gardens that we forget about the sheer variety on offer. White towers, fairy-tale mansions, mountain fortresses and haunted spires \u2013 the stuff of fantasy books is only a short drive from anywhere in the UK.<\/p>\n

One great example is the broken hilltop tower and walls of Corfe Castle, a ruin loaded with stories.<\/p>\n

Coastal castles<\/h3>\n
\""Dunnottar\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Dunnottar Castle, Aberdeenshire\/Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Perched high on a rocky peninsula, with sheer cliffs rising up from the crashing North Sea on all its sides but one, Dunnottar<\/a> is perhaps the most dramatically located castle in the entire British Isles.\u00a0<\/span>A small wooden church \u2013 one of the first Christian buildings in all of Pictland \u2013 was built at Dunnottar during the 5th century AD by the missionary St Ninan. By the 9th century, King Donald II ruled here from a small fort, until Vikings killed him and razed the buildings to the ground.<\/p>\n

Autumn monuments<\/h3>\n
\""Stirling,\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The Wallace Monument, Scotland\/Credit:Drew Buckley<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

You\u2019d be forgiven for thinking this was a still from The Lord of the Rings<\/i> film set: the Wallace Monument rising in low autumn light from the volcanic outcrop of Abbey Craig just north of Stirling. Built in the 1860s in Victorian Gothic style, it commemorates William Wallace\u2019s victory over the English at Stirling Bridge in 1297. From Abbey Craig, Wallace was able to watch his enemies slowly cross the bridge, and so was able to time his attack when \u201cas many of the enemy had come over as they believed [they] could overcome\u201d. Some 5,000 English troops were trapped and slaughtered.<\/p>\n

Brocken Spectre<\/h3>\n
\""Brocken\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Brocken Spectre in the Mountains of Mourne\/Credit: Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The Mourne Mountains are deeply ethereal, where cloud shifts and pulses around fractured peaks and light paints patterns in the sky. One display sometimes seen is the Brocken spectre, the enlarged shadow of an object or person cast upon cloud within a spectrum of light, one of many spectacular autumn spectacles<\/a> to be seen in Britain.<\/p>\n

Caves<\/h3>\n
\""Kent's\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Kent\u2019s Cavern, Devon\/Credit: Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

There are more than 40 accessible caves in Devon, including Kents Cavern in Torquay. Drop deep beneath the town into the Labyrinth and the Bears Den, and walk among 400-million-year-old rocks decked with spectacular stalagmites and stalactites.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Deer ruts<\/h3>\n
\""Deer\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
A large red deer stag one early misty morning\/Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Autumn woods, fells and heaths reverberate to the bellows of red deer<\/a> stags. Bedecked with a full set of antlers, the male deer calls out his battle cry \u2013 a disconcerting primal groan \u2013 staking a claim on a harem of females (hinds) and defying rivals to challenge him to mating rights. He will hope that this is enough to dissuade other stags from a physical confrontation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Autumn trees and leaves<\/h3>\n
\""Autumn\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Autumn scenes in and around Castle Howard\/Credit: Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Autumn brings gold, rust and ochre colour to Castle Howard\u2019s grounds in Yorkshire, as the lowering sun glints through beech trees. The 404-hectare estate is the jewel in the crown of the Howardian Hills AONB.<\/span><\/p>\n

All across Britain, autumn colour<\/a> is sweeping the land, from golden woodlands<\/a> to rolling hills<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n

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By Daniel Graham Published: Monday, 01 November 2021 at 12:00 am For much of the UK, November represents the height of autumn. The stag rut is in full flow, forests sing with seasonal colour and fires burn in cosy country pubs. It\u2019s also a month of mystery; a time when strange creatures \u2013 witches, monsters […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":104,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"8"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/11\/best-of-the-british-countryside-in-november.png",1140,754,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/11\/best-of-the-british-countryside-in-november-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/11\/best-of-the-british-countryside-in-november-300x198.png",300,198,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/11\/best-of-the-british-countryside-in-november-768x508.png",768,508,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/11\/best-of-the-british-countryside-in-november-1024x677.png",800,529,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/11\/best-of-the-british-countryside-in-november.png",1140,754,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/11\/best-of-the-british-countryside-in-november.png",1140,754,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Daniel Graham Published: Monday, 01 November 2021 at 12:00 am For much of the UK, November represents the height of autumn. The stag rut is in full flow, forests sing with seasonal colour and fires burn in cosy country pubs. It\u2019s also a month of mystery; a time when strange creatures \u2013 witches, monsters…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/103"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}