It was a lovely cold and misty morning, just 8c at 7.30am with a very watery sunrise, the sun hiding behind thick dense cloud. The forecast for the day was pretty good so after a light breakfast we all headed up the A1motorway to Bedale and the Thorpe Perrow Arboretum.

After an uneventful journey we arrived at just before 11.00am, the sun was shining, and the sky was blue with just a few light wispy clouds. We popped into the tea shop to order a coffee and sat outside on one of the picnic tables to enjoy our mid-morning refreshment before setting off on a walk through the trees. The arboretum puts on a very good Halloween Trail every year, this year the trail opened on the 5^th October and it runs through the school half term holiday until Sunday 3^rd November.

Setting off from the tearoom we followed the well signposted Halloween trail through the woodland. The trees looked quite vibrant and colourful in the bright autumnal sunshine. We crossed the footbridge over the small stream, though this morning the water was flowing at a fair rate due to the heavy rainfall earlier in the week. We continued passed the ‘Children’s play area’ and headed for the ‘Bog Garden’ and the start of the Halloween trail. We passed many ghosts, ghouls and skeletons in a variety of settings, we passed a couple who had fallen headfirst into the bog with just their boots showing, another couple who had been cutting their grass for such a long time had turned skeletal, we passed a group of campers who had also turned skeletal. A Gruffalo (I think) was stuck waist deep in water in search of another meal. Lots of ghosts, giant bats and spiders were hanging around the ‘Pet Cemetery’, there was a chap sat at the bus stop with a red bobble hat on and nothing else, he had been sat there that long he too had turned skeletal. We passed several skeletal people enjoying an afternoon tea in the woodland, and a couple accompanied with the vicar who had just got married. The Witches Flying Academy looked interesting as did Madam Magnolia! It was a really good trail and was proving to be very popular with young mums pushing their youngsters around and interacting with some of the displays.

On finishing the trail, we made our way over to the Bird of Prey and animal centre where we turned left and walked along Birch Avenue. I always like this part of the walk as there is a lovely view to the right looking along the ‘Red Oak Avenue’. We continued our walk stopping for a few moments to admire the Hydrangeas alongside the pathway. We stopped again when we reached the King George V Silver Jubilee Oak. The autumnal colours of the trees looked beautiful, ranging in colours from light green to yellow and to a golden brown, walking over a blanket of fallen leaves felt like walking across a field of freshly frozen snow, crisp and even.

From the huge oak tree, we headed along the Millenium trail to the Catherine Parr Oak tree where we had another sit down on a nearby bench, just to admire the different autumnal colours, fungi and small clusters of purple flowering Cyclamen could be seen under many of these beautiful trees and shrubs. We continued our walk alongside the water’s edge till we reached the Acorn Sculpture where we stopped to admire the bright red leaves of the Acers and Maples. We continued our walk alongside the lake, passing the house on the opposite side of the water. A pair of swans were busily preening themselves on the far bank and enjoying the warming breeze from the sun above. We continued our walk alongside the water’s edge, passing Henry’s Island on the left, stopping to chat to some visitors who wanted to say hello to Meg and Gracie. A little further on we followed the path round the corner, passing the Children’s playground on our right. From here it was just a short walk back to the tearoom café where we enjoyed a very pleasant brunch before the journey home.