The Perfect Early Autumn Weekend

We love summer, but we might love autumn even more. The weather becomes theatrical, the landscapes become dramatic. The season calls for extravagance rather than beach casual. Everything feels more comforting and warming, from food to fashion to what we're watching and reading. Even if autumn isn't your favourite season, moving with the seasons rather than fighting them can make you feel more grounded and content. There's something lovely about letting the world outside change and allowing our weekends to change with it.

This is our perfect autumn weekend, made for you to adjust at will.

Saturday

Wake up and salute the day. Get outside, whether that’s a brisk walk around the garden, stroll to the coffee shop or simply open the windows and letting the cooler air in. Notice what's changed. The light is different, the mornings feel different and the leaves are turning. The air is cooler but not yet crisp.

Then breakfast. Early autumn is a lovely crossover when summer produce is still around but you’re beginning to crave the warmer flavours of the months ahead. Greek yoghurt with berries gently warmed until they become a little syrupy, with roasted nuts, honey and perhaps a little cinnamon. It has the freshness of summer but feels just a little more autumnal. Later in the season, when the mornings are properly chilly, you can indulge in something more substantial. A full English, perhaps, with coffee and the knowledge that you've got a big day ahead.

Get out into nature and watch the passing of the seasons, whether that’s a hike through changing woodland, a walk across the moors in blustery wind or a visit to a beautiful country estate. It’s a great opportunity to end up by a pub fireside. Time the walk for later in the afternoon, setting off while there’s still plenty of light and allowing the evening to arrive as you walk. The sky changes, the temperature drops and by the time you reach the end of the route, the thought of a fire and something warm to drink feels all the more satisfying.

Early autumn is one of the best seasons for cooking because the seasons are overlapping. Tomatoes, courgettes, runner beans, sweetcorn and berries are still around, while apples, pears, beetroot, fennel and the first autumn vegetables are arriving. A big bowl of soup with good bread would be perfect if the weather has turned. Or roast chicken with September vegetables. Mushroom and leek pasta. A tomato and courgette tart with a big green salad. For pudding, baked pears with honey or maple syrup, perhaps with yoghurt or vanilla ice cream. Or an apple and blackberry crumble while the fruit is at its best. It doesn't need to be complicated. The point is to make dinner feel comforting and generous.

Although it’s not quite Halloween yet indulge in the season. We only get a small amount of spooky time each year.  Light some candles, turn the lights down and let yourself enjoy the slightly gothic side of autumn before the Halloween decorations appear in every shop.

Read some Edgar Allan Poe. Watch Practical Magic. Put on Gilmore Girls, which has somehow become one of the great autumn comfort shows. Make hot chocolate and get under a blanket. There's a specific pleasure in the first few evenings when you realise that snuggle season is starting. Enjoy it before Halloween arrives, and before the Christmas chaos kicks in.

Sunday

Yesterday was a big day so today can be slow. No alarm. No rushing. Open the curtains, make a coffee and stay in your pyjamas for a bit longer than you normally would. This is the morning for an indulgent breakfast: pancakes with baked apples, cinnamon and maple syrup, maybe yoghurt and berries if you're still in that early autumn mood. Make a proper coffee. Start a book you’ve been meaning to read. Let breakfast take an unnecessarily long time.

Then, before the weekend disappears, do a little reset. Change the sheets, tidy the kitchen, put flowers somewhere you can see them and put away the clothes that have gathered on the chair. Make your lunches for the week and have a look at what's in the fridge. Get a few things ready so Monday morning doesn't feel quite so chaotic. This doesn't need to become a Sunday productivity ritual. Twenty minutes is plenty. The point is simply to make Monday feel a little kinder.

Finish with a roast. It doesn't have to be elaborate. Roast chicken, potatoes and vegetables, something slow cooked, a beautiful vegetable pie. Whatever makes you want to sit down at the table and stay there for a while.

Then rest. Have a bath, put on clean pyjamas, read for a while or watch something comforting. Let the house get quiet. Summer is when we stay outside until the light goes, autumn gives us permission to come home, and maybe that's why we love it so much.

Settle in and enjoy it.

For a proper autumn woodland walk, the National Trust currently highlights Blickling Estate in Norfolk, where the beech and sweet chestnut trees turn beautiful shades of amber, Chartwell in Kent, Cliveden in Buckinghamshire and Mount Stewart in County Down. Mount Stewart's Red Trail is particularly suited to an autumn afternoon, while Cliveden offers an easier woodland walk if you're after something a little less strenuous.

And if you're in Yorkshire, Brimham Rocks is hard to beat. The dramatic rock formations, open moorland and changing colours make it feel wonderfully wild in autumn, with several circular routes to choose from.

Summer is magical, but has a pressure of feeling like we need to be outside making the most of it. Autumn is for sitting inside listening to the storm rage. In early autumn it might still be warm enough to leave a window open, so you can hear the rain and feel the cool air coming in. Feel the change of light. Light a fire if you have one, or fill the room with candles. Have friends over, or stay in by yourself.

Later, head into town or a nearby village and visit the independent shops. A good bakery, a deli, a local butcher, a farm shop or anywhere selling beautiful cheese, good bread, seasonal fruit or something you didn't know you needed until you saw it. Look for things that feel like autumn is arriving.

Apples and pears, fresh bread, local honey, good cheese, something to bake with, perhaps a bunch of flowers. Early autumn is particularly good for this because the shops and markets are still full of summer produce while the first proper autumn ingredients are appearing. If you're lucky enough to find a place selling local apples, bring some home. This is when British apples and pears really start coming into their own.

And when you’ve picked up some treats Sunday afternoon is made for baking. It doesn't have to be a grand project. Apple and blackberry crumble, pear and almond cake, banana bread with cinnamon, a simple loaf or chocolate brownies if that's what you're in the mood for. If you picked blackberries on your walk, even better. There's something particularly satisfying about baking with things that belong to the season, especially when the kitchen starts to smell warm and sweet and theres nowhere else you need to be.