Autumn is my favourite season; the colours of the leaves, reasons to wear big cosy jumpers, excuses to drink lots of coffee and the crisp fresh feeling in the air.
Scotland is a great place to explore in autumn, and even if you’ve already visited somewhere before it can be special going back and seeing how much it has changed from season to season.
Go for a forest walk
As autumn creeps in, the leaves will be turning auburn and forests will look impressive with their deep reds and browns.
Thornielee Forest, Scottish Borders
Feel protected in this quiet forest which is also a haven for butterflies. Two choices of walks mean you can make it a shorter trip or stay longer to do the more strenuous route. Along the way, there are seats and picnic benches.
Muirshiel Country Park, Lochwinnoch
This place is a hidden gem – ten minutes of driving down a small country road and you’ll find this country park that makes you feel like you’re miles away. It’s peaceful, and from every direction, you’ll just see hills, trees or fields. Windy Hill is here, a small but picturesque walk that is aptly named.
The Hermitage, Pitlochry
This is a lovely woodland walk with lots of things to spot along the way. It’s not a strenuous walk and you could make the walk longer by going off into one of the many routes in the Tay Forest Park. At The Hermitage, you’ll see a waterfall, Ossian’s Hall, Douglas Firs and hopefully lots of birds and maybe even salmon! Parking costs if you’re not a National Trust member but otherwise it is free to visit.
Dùn na Cuaiche Watchtower, Inveraray
This walk takes place at Inveraray Castle. You don’t need a ticket to do this and it can also be done whilst the castle is closed. You’ll walk past the impressive castle, over a bridge and venture into the woods. The view from the watchtower is brilliant, you’ll be able to see Inveraray town centre and the bridge into the town. When I walked there, I could see the hotel where I had set off from and couldn’t believe I had walked from there and how far away it now looked!
Go pumpkin picking
Pumpkin patches have been sprouting up across Scotland over the years and there are now lots of options. In Sitlringshire, there’s Arnprior Farm, and North Berwick is where you’ll find Balgone Estate and Kilduff Farm. All of these patches put a ton of effort in, with lots of lovely details and extra things to do while you’re there.
- 🎃 Kilduff Farm, North Berwick – visit here for lots of pumpkin props and photo opportunities including an old vintage car and their shop selling Kilduff Farm merch and autumnal gifts.
- 🎃 Balgone Estate, North Berwick – take part in their corn maze and do the spooky walk where you’ll meet some witches. After pumpkin picking, grab something to eat at the food trucks.
- 🎃 Arnprior Farm, Stirlingshire – food trucks, a maze and games can be found at this pumpkin patch sitting in picturesque Arnprior.
Find a new favourite cafe or bakery
It’s always a good time for cake and coffee but in the autumn it feels like an even better excuse to try out some new places – especially if they release autumnal-themed cakes and coffees! Find a new cafe, bakery or coffee stop.
Stargaze
With streetlights it can be difficult to stargaze, so if you don’t live somewhere where there is a good chance to spot them, you can make a trip to a dark sky park. In Scotland we have two dark sky parks; Galloway Forest Park and Cairngorms Dark Sky Park.
Wrap up warm, make some hot drinks, grab a seat outside and see what you can spot! You don’t need to have a telescope or binoculars to stargaze but you may find it more fun to get a closer look.
Get to know the ghosts and ghouls of Scotland
A ghost tour can be a fun and spooky way to enjoy an evening – the darker autumn nights will help create a haunted atmosphere! Edinburgh in my opinion is definitely the best city to visit for its selection of ghost tours including a bus ghost tour and the Edinburgh Dungeons which is open all year round however there are tours across Scotland too.
Edinburgh ghost tours
Other ghost tours
History and Horror Tours in Dunkeld