With hazy summer days a distant memory, autumn brings a season of transformation with crisp, vibrant leaves, harvests of colourful fruit and vegetables and crackling log fires.

Having missed the splendours of this special in England for several years due to their European motorhome travels, our Lifestyle and Leisure Editor, Sharon Cain, and Photographer, Steve Hare, discover the autumnal pull of coastlines and countryside.

Season of Transformation

Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.

Signifying a time of transition, autumn can act as a reminder of what we still want to achieve, discover, or learn in the end-of-year countdown from which there is no escape - especially in supermarkets with festive fayre in abundance since September.

Autumn is the perfect time to update our goals and life plan, ensuring that 2026 is off to a flying start.

Autumn Well-being

There’s no better time for blowing the cobwebs away than being barefoot on a wind-swept beach in the autumn.

Being by the sea is therapeutic all year round and scientifically proven to boost our immune system and mental health. The magnesium in sea water also hydrates our skin and is good for its elasticity.

Living just five minutes from the North Sea in Northumberland, we are fortunate to witness its constantly changing backdrop which can be incredibly special in Autumn.

Amble is among our favourite coastal reports on the Northumberland coastal path which stretches 62 miles from Cresswell to Bewick-upon-Tweed, England’s last border town.

A thriving port which The Telegraph recently hailed as one of the UK’s ‘best kept secrets’, here’s why is it also known as England’s friendliest town.

Seasonal Splendours

For autumn glory at its best, explore your local national parks.

Our recent trip to the Cheviots in Northumberland, the most northerly mountains in England, was incomparable for the hues of heather in abundance from late summer to early autumn.

Located in the Northumberland National Park, the range of rolling hills overlap the Anglo-Scottish border between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders.

You can tackle a variety of walks of varying grades, the most challenging being The Cheviot, the highest point in the country at 2,647 feet in the Harthope Valley from where you can see The Lake District on a clear day. The Wooler Common car park, just three minutes outside of the ancient market town of Wooler, is a perfect starting point for many walks.

The profusion of colours and raw beauty are magnificent.

For uplifting seaside autumnal walks in Yorkshire and the Lake District, check out the 190-mile Coast to Coast walk created by prolific walker and author, Alfred Wainwright.

Covering gorgeous swathes of the Lake District National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, it starts at the Cumbrian village of St Bees and ends at Robin Hood’s Bay in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park.

To symbolise and celebrate the achievement of completing the challenge, Wainwright suggested walkers dip their feet in the Irish Sea at St Bedes, and in the North Sea at Robin Hood’s Bay.

If you’re looking for a shorter section of the trail, I can recommend a glorious 15-mile stretch from Scarborough to Robin Hood’s Bay on the Cleveland Way.

Tranquil and beautiful, it is also challenging in parts along the rougher terrain. Like many before us, we celebrated our arrival in Robin Hood’s Bay with a well-deserved drink at the Bay Hotel overlooking the sea and nursed our aching feet on the bus back to Scarborough.

2026 Here We Come!

In the adage there is no time like the present, autumn is perfect for deciding how you will fulfil your passions and dreams in 2026.


Tips To Compile Your Bucket List
Map Out Your Vision – this can be done by ‘dreamstorming’ - letting your imagination run wild - which is enormous fun, liberating and energising
Divide your plan into sections - travel, hobbies, health, and fitness
Set timescales – doing this helps to sustain the impetus and motivation
Allow for compromises – they may need to be made to accommodate your spouse/partner/family
Capture Your Experiences - take photographs or start a blog/ Facebook /Instagram page to make magical memories and encapsulate your experiences

While planning new ventures, hobbies and trips keeps us focused, energised and upbeat, it is also important to be in the ‘here and now’.

Every day is a fresh start – an opportunity to live life to the full and savour the magic that each season brings.