Vesna Armstrong Photography

  Since, sadly, there is no Christmas market this year in Leeds, the town I live in, I was very pleased to learn there is one taking place in York, one of my favourite cities and most certainly one of the most beautiful towns in the UK and beyond. I hadn't been there for quite a while and was very excited to walk around the town's old, historic and charming streets festooned with Christmas lights and decorations. There is a lot of Christmas related events happening there at the moment, too, and the city very much exudes the magic of the season.   

   Autumn colours this month have been stunning in my local park, and I have enjoyed immensely my morning walks with the doggie. Here are my favourite captures of what is the best and now the last of this year's autumn.

  Last weekend I stayed in my beloved Haworth, for what could be the last time till spring. Yes, I will be going back soon, of course, but probably just for a day visit until days get longer again. Apart from a couple of brief sunny spells it was a very wet weekend, which prevented me from venturing out on the moors, but I still had a good and relaxing time staying in the village.  It was a Halloween weekend. I personally don't care much about Halloween; what interests me a lot more is Samhain, a pagan Earth festival that usually starts on the 31st October. Samhain marks the end of harvest season and the beginning of winter according to the Celtic calendar. For me winter does start in November when all the autumn colours slowly disappear, the trees become bare, the nights are drawing in, and there is that wintry chill in the air.  This short video is about the change in seasons - the transition from autumn to winter.