‘A wildly beautiful place for autumn colour’: readers’ favourite UK forest trails

Rare rainforest in the Lake District

Autumn is often wet – so why not embrace this, and visit one of Britain’s temperate rainforests in Borrowdale, near Keswick. Such forests are rare globally as well as in Britain. Not only can you observe the gorgeous autumn hues from the leaves of ash, birch and oak but you can see all manner of mosses, liverworts and lichens. The latter proliferate because of the clean air and wet climate. There are plenty of forest paths to follow – and don’t forget to visit Ashness Bridge for a glorious view of Derwent Water and the fells beyond.
Graham Lilley

Bike trails in Berkshire

Part of the Windsor estate, Swinley Forest provides a great day out regardless of the season. The 1,200-hectare (3,000-acre) forest, just south of Bracknell in Berkshire, offers some great walks and viewpoints. Our favourite activity is to hire mountain bikes from Swinley Bike Hub and take them around the extensive mountain bike trails. A good mixture of green, blue and red routes makes it a fun activity for any level of ability. A further membership opens access to the Summit, Swinley’s purpose-built mountain bike skills and training facility.
Joshua

Cornwall’s wooded hills

One of my favourite woodland walks is at Lanhydrock, Cornwall, from Respryn Bridge along the River Fowey. The sparkling river coupled with the colours of the turning leaves creates a wonderful sense of serenity. Walk a quarter of a mile downstream to the footbridge, cross over and walk up the forest trail to Lanhydrock House. From there it’s about a mile down the tree-lined drive back to Respryn with views over mid-Cornwall’s wooded hills.
Charlotte

Ponies and pints in the New Forest

Low sun on mossy dells, playing Pooh sticks in clay-coloured streams and some of the most ancient trees you’ll ever see are just a handful of reasons why the New Forest was made for an autumn trip. Throw in a pint of local ale in a forest pub (The Oak in the village of Bank just outside Lyndhurst is a favourite), a spot of pony-watching on the walk back to Brockenhurst, perhaps a Sunday lunch at the Pig and I’m left wondering why there are still people who haven’t visited England’s smallest national park. It’s only 90 minutes back to London on the train, for one thing.
Polly

The forests of the Allen valleys, rolling and tumbling down shady slopes on the banks of the eponymous river in Northumberland, are my go-to woodlands in autumn. The treetops and branches are tucked away in a secret world where the river has scythed a precipitous gorge. Forests of beech and oak cascade down the steep valley sides. October is the best time to visit as the red, green and gold glow forms a colourful canopy, silent other than the calls of birds. Last year, the haunting bellow of a stag was a memory that lasted beautifully through the winter.
Jazz

Victoriana deep in the woods, West Yorkshire

West Wood at Calverley in West Yorkshire is full of curiosity by virtue of being the former grounds of Champion House, a grand Victorian home that’s now a care home. You can find a former swimming pond with two islands, a well house, the remains of a gardener’s cottage and a folly arch. Several “gentleman’s houses” were planned for the estate in the 1850s but Champion House was the only one that was built. The mini-gorge of Calverley Cutting was constructed to provide access to the proposed properties. Neighbouring Calverley Wood contains ruined buildings that were a military training camp, a prisoner-of-war camp and a fireworks factory.
Paul Kirkwood

Get to know your local woodland

There’s no woodland like your own local woodland, no matter how small. Visit it regularly and, over time, it will become familiar, known and loved. Trees will reveal themselves as individuals – as striplings, in their heyday, and when aged and dying. Time will disclose the annual haunts of the hanging bryony vine, scarlet elf cap, the early purple orchid, or where the badgers hide. Litter picking, for the woods’ sake, is surprisingly satisfying. Getting to know the woodland through all weathers and all seasons, binding your own life with it as the years pass, is a gift that keeps on giving.
Jennifer Leach

Dancing in gold, russet and red, North Yorkshire

Strid Wood near Bolton Abbey is a wildly beautiful place for autumn colour. The ancient oaks dance in gold, russet and red on either side of the River Wharfe and the fungi, mosses and lichens are photogenic, too. Depending on the time of day, you can see birds, squirrels and bats, and if you’re lucky, you might spot a short-eared owl, roe deer or otter. I love the long circular walk between Bolton Abbey and Barden Bridge, passing the wild waters of the Strid, but if you have less time, you can stop in the middle at Cavendish Pavilion and do a shorter stretch.
Susanna C

Acer forest and a skywalk, Gloucestershire

At Westonbirt, the National Arboretum, we enjoy the gorgeous show of the golden colours each autumn. The website tells us when the best days have come, especially for the Japanese acers. Then we also find the other seasonal delights of this lovely forest. Treats include shiny bronze horse chestnuts and prickly sweet chestnuts. We smell the Indian cedar and poke the soft bark of the mighty redwoods. A skywalk takes us to the top of the trees. The shop sells fruit of the forest jam and our favourite forest honey. A perfect end to the morning is game pie with beer at the nearby Hare and Hounds.
David Innes-Wilkin

Winning tip: a perfect place for reflection, Highlands

An hour’s drive from Glasgow, on a road skirting Dumgoyne Hill and with Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park glimpsed in the distance, takes you to Loch Ard Forest. Walks or bike rides along the tranquil paths offer surprises at every twist and turn: sculptures peeking out from behind gnarly Scots pines, the glassy surface of idyllic Loch Ard, the 729-metre (2,390ft) Ben Venue looming large in the distance, or maybe just a cheeky red squirrel stocking up for the winter months. Be sure to stop at Aberfoyle on the way home for refreshments at the Station Coffee Shop.
Louis