Outdoors

Autumn is a great time for mindful outdoor activities. As well as sporting and adventurous pursuits, the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is also a perfect time to go outside, slow down, take in your surroundings and appreciate the simplest pleasures nature has to offer. Here are five relaxing ideas that everyone can enjoy, whatever your age and regardless of where you are.

MELlOW FRUITFULNESs

Bat watching Believe it or not, even in suburban and urban areas, you can see bats at sunset as they come out looking for insects to eat. In late summer and autumn, before they go into hibernation, you might be surprised to see them in your own garden, especially on mild, dry evenings. They tend not to fly across wide open spaces, but garden trees offer them the sort of shelter they like. You might also look around bodies of water, such as rivers and canals, where the banks are tree-lined and there is plenty of insect life for them to feast upon.

Stargazing There can be few things more relaxing than wrapping up in blankets with a hot drink and just staring into space. Slowing your mind down from the stresses of the day and acclimatising to the quiet and tranquillity, you will find there is a lot to see up there. Earthsky.org is a great resource for knowing what to look for in autumn, such as the Draconids and Orionids meteor showers, which both happen throughout October.

Conkers A slightly livelier activity, and a great way to entertain kids for a day at zero cost, conker-hunting is a joy you should never grow out of. Every dad who fancies himself as a bit of a sportsman will have a technique of knocking the spiky blighters out of the highest branches, while those with a little more finesse will enjoy scouring the ground for plentiful windfall. And no matter where you are, there won’t be a tree too far away.

Bird feeder At this time of year, there is less food around for the birds to find so easily, but a good feeder will attract lots of different species right to your back door. The RSPB’s online interactive bird identifier is a good way of adding an educational or even competitive dimension to your spotting.

Apple harvesting Apart from the pumpkin, there can be few fruits or vegetables more synonymous with autumn than the humble apple. They’re plentiful, cheap, versatile and tasty and even if you don’t happen to have your own tree, it’s likely there will be an orchard nearby, where you can go and stock up. It’s astonishing how much tastier home-pressed apple juice is than anything in the supermarket and the process of making it is also easier than you might think.