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Deep in rain, mist and leaf-curl
Friday 29th August 2025
The Autumn Valley: A Different Sort of Time by Miriam Darlington
Round a bend at the end of a deep lane where trees “lean in over the track” we find ourselves in a hidden Gloucestershire valley. This richly lyrical essay by the naturalist Miriam Darlington brings us owls and wrens, hibernating ladybirds and an old orchard where windfall crab apples melt into the soft earth.
Humans and animals alike are hunkering down ready for the cold season ahead. Tasks such as sweeping leaves and clearing gutters are woven into the parallel rhythms of the natural world, so that indoors and outdoors are brought into intimate harmony:
Written with loving attention to the lives of plants, insects and animals, these words are best enjoyed by a blazing fire or curled up in a favourite armchair after the curtains have been drawn.