Falling into Autumn - November 2025

Kenny Baxter
Nov 2
4 min read

Bright berries set against the autumn leaves; practicing some close up photography.

I won't be the first or the last photographer to write about the Autumn (or the fall to my non-UK friends); but I couldn't resist the topic for my November blog.

Autumn is my possibly my favourite season of the year; even though it leads directly into Winter - my least favourite. I love the reds, oranges, browns and purples that start to decorate the landscape and make for beautiful photographs. If the weather is favourable; it's still a great time of year to get out for a walk and some of my favourite photographs have been captured during the autumn.

This month I've went on 6 photography outings and generated 624 RAW images. Now like many photographers; not all of these are good - many are practicing; fiddling with the setting; taking bracketed shots for HDR; etc.

Getting Started

Over recent months, I have been exploring the beautiful landscapes of the Chilterns; an area which spans Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. This month, a lovely walk near the village of Bledlow was on the agenda. At this stage of the months; only the first few trees were starting to change colour - but it was a foretelling of what a great month would be ahead - because in my eyes it's been one of the most vibrant autumns we've had for a few years.

Walking around

At this time of year, the evenings start to drastically draw in. In some ways it presents an opportunity - sunset is at an ideal time for taking the dog out and getting some photos. In others, it is the sign of the winter and the short (and dark) days to come in the northern hemisphere.

One of the highlights of my summer has been joining the local ramblers group in my village; each week we've been on some fantastic walks in the countryside and it's provided source material for some absolutely brilliant photography! With the nights drawing in and the clocks changing at the end of October - this weekly jaunt will now be on pause until the Spring; with only a monthly Saturday morning walk during the Winter months - I will certainly miss those.

The last couple of walks have been circular walks around the village in the fading light; with a head-torch to assist in the very last weeks. But I did manage to get a couple of pictures before the light was lost in and around the village; including at our local nature reserve.

An old haunt and a new haunt

This time last year I was moving house (well in the middle of October); near my old house in Swindon was the beautiful Old Town Gardens, a lovely small town park which was a favourite dog walking spot before the move. I've not been up there with the Camera yet but knowing it would be a spectacular place to visit in the autumn - I took the opportunity to go up on a Sunday afternoon and get some pictures in the beautiful Rose Garden as well as all the lovely trees.

By contrast, one of my local discoveries near the new house has been the small village of Coleshill which has a lovely National Trust park as well as the fantastic 'Blake's Kitchen' which offers a great refreshment stop after a walk. I've had many visits to Coleshill with the Camera; but the beautiful surroundings provided even more photo opportunities for me to enjoy this month as I enjoyed a long circular walk from Coleshill to Badbury Clump via the Great Tythe Barn in Great Coxwell.

Celebrations

October is the month we chose to get married and this year it's our third wedding anniversary. The last two years we've hopped on a plane for a short European break to a new city we've not previously visited. This year, for various reasons, we decided to stay home and go for days out instead.

As we live on the 'doorstep' of the Cotswolds, we decided that it would be nice to spend some time exploring some of the things 'on our doorstep'. First we visited the beautiful Batsford Arbouretum - we chose one of the 'peak' days to go and do this - it was perfect; the colours we're absolutely fabulous and we had a great day enjoying all of the fantastic colours on display!

Our second visit was to the village of Bourton on the Water; which is one of the most famous (and touristy) towns in the Cotswolds. We had a lovely day visiting the Motoring Museum, home to 'Brum' (something lost on my wife, who is originally from Austraila) and the Model Village - as well as the exploring the village itself.