When the lazy, hazy days of summerdraw to a close and a chill returns tothe air at night, most people’s holidaythoughts are either fast-fadingmemories or involvemaking plans for the

following year.But for those not tied to taking

their annual sojourn during thesummer school break, autumnrepresents a great time to go onholiday. Mainland Europe often basks

in warm sun well into October,with the Mediterranean’s sunshineresorts still pleasantly warm. Notonly can you escape the crowdedbeaches of high season, but there are usually

some terrific deals to be had as well with airlines keen tofill seats before the flying season ends and hotels want-ing to boost occupancy rates.

For one type of holiday, autumn is high season,however. Leaf peeping, autumn colours or fallfoliage tours – whatever you call them,they are the holidays which celebratenature’s annual spectacle when leavesturn to glorious hues from dazzlingyellows and rich oranges to fieryreds.Traditionally associated with the

chocolate-box villages of NewEngland, they have become so popularthere that tours fill up months in

advance and accommodation has to bebooked way ahead in many areas.While few areas outside of New England

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seasonal focus n autumn getaways

Foreverautumn

Don’t pack away your suntan lotion, swimming costumes or flip flops when summer ends. Thereare lots of holiday options available throughout the autumn, from Mediterranean sunshine escapesto cruises or short breaks on temperate Guernsey. It is also the time to see spectacular foliagedisplays and when you can enjoy nature’s bountiful harvest, as Peter Ellegard reports

are sold specifically for leaf-viewing tours, the phenom-enon is not just confined to the region. Autumn colourdisplays can be seen in many areas of North Amer-ica, from Eastern Canada right down the EasternUS as well as in the Mid-West. Even the RockyMountains and parts of the West Coast get in onthe act, too. Here, you can enjoy just as stunninga show but without the crowded roads andbooked-out accommodation.

foliage seasonCanada is a great option for leaf peeping with itsprofusion of forests, and days are still mild. The colourscan be seen throughout Atlantic Canada, Quebec andOntario in the east, and in the mountains of Alberta andBritish Columbia in the west.Atlantic Canada has many festivals that a tour can tie

in with, among them Prince Edward Island’s FallFlavours cuisine festival (www.fallflavours.ca), fromSeptember 7-30, and the Celtic Colours InternationalFestival (www.celtic-colours.com), a music and dancecelebration from October 5-13 across Nova Scotia’sCape Breton Island. Ontario’s Algonquin Park has superb autumn colours,

as does southern Quebec, where they are celebrated in

the Symphony of Colours festival at mountain resortTremblant (www.tremblant.ca), from September 8-October 14.

Tour operators highlighting autumn colours inCanada include Frontier Canada (www.frontier-canada.co.uk) and Prestige Holidays(www.prestigeholidays.co.uk).North America’s foliage season runs from early

September to as late as November, the more north-ern areas seeing the leaves turn first.Several tourist offices track colour changes with

weekly reports online. They include PennsylvaniaTourism, which has a special section on its website(www.visitpa.com) during the season. New York Stateis another good option for leaf peeping, which can bedone on a Wine, Waters and Wonders tour combiningNiagara Falls, Rochester and the wineries and country-side of the Finger Lakes.The Capital Region is also good for viewing autumn

colours, particularly Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.You can view them from on high in a hot air balloon, ona zipline in the Shenandoah Valley, on chairlifts atWintergreen Resort, on horseback, hiking through theShenandoah National Park and driving along the BlueRidge Parkway. Michigan, Ohio and Oregon’s stunning

seasonal focus n autumn getaways

Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism

Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism

Visit Guernsey

n Sunset at Menemsha, onMartha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

n Oxen at OldSturbridge Village

n Guernsey's SaumarezPark in autumn

Columbia River Highway, with its towering 620-footMultnomah Falls, also put on superb shows.

cranberries and pumpkinsBut it is New England that draws most visitors for itsspectacular foliage displays. Tours often take in severalof the six states, with the pretty mountain villages alongVermont’s Route 100 in the Green Mountains, Maine’sWhite Mountains and New Hampshire’s KancamagusHighway always popular. New England gateway state Massachusetts serves up

its own foliage delights with the rolling hills of the Berk-shires among the best places to enjoy the annualspectacle. The Jacob’s Ladder Scenic Byway(www.jacobsladderscenicbyway.org) weaves for 35miles between Lee and Russell, parallel to the Massa-chusetts Turnpike freeway but taking drivers back to a

timeless era through sleepy villages such as Hunt-ington. Stop off at the bright yellowHuntington Country Store (www.huntingtoncountrystore.com) tostock up with local goodies and souvenirsand try its famous wrapples, apple andcinnamon-filled pastries – the perfectlunch snack on an autumn day. Even citiessuch as Boston put on colourful shows.Autumn is far more than falling leaves,

though; it is a time of mellow days andharvests, and many places celebrate nature’s

bountiful gifts, even on the coast.Massachusetts’s Nantucket Island has been farming

cranberries for over 150 years, and October 6 will markthe harvest with the Nantucket Conservation Founda-tion’s 10th Annual Cranberry Festival(www.nantucketconservation.org) at MilestoneCranberry Bog with music, family activities and, ofcourse, fresh cranberries.Pumpkins abound in autumn across North America

and they feature strongly at events such as the YankeeCandle Village Fall Festival in South Deerfield, Massa-chusetts, in October, which includes pumpkindecorating.Autumn is a great time to explore the coastline of

Massachusetts’ Plymouth, Cape Cod and Islands region,with tour operator America As You Like It (www.americaasyoulikeit.com) featuring it on a nine-day tour that takes in Boston, Plymouth, with its PlimothPlantation living history museum depicting a pilgrimvillage and featuring a replica of the Mayflower, CapeCod’s bohemian Provincetown and the pristine Cape CodNational Seashore, Martha’s Vineyard and NantucketIsland. The tour operator also offers a 10-day SouthernNew England tour, much of it in Massachusetts and withmany outdoor activities to enjoy the changing seasons.

wine festivalsIn Vermont, the annual Killington Hay Festival(www.discoverkillington.com) runs for five weeksfrom September 3-October 8 and includes a collectionof over 40 giant hay animal sculptures throughout thetown plus daily and weekly family-friendly events andactivities.

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autumn colours – did you know?l The timing of autumn colour displays can vary asthe weather dictates when and how brilliant theyare. Late September and early October are gener-ally best for New England.

l The most intense colours are usually in easternareas of the US and Canada.

l Autumn colours are more brilliant in North Amer-ica because it has more deciduous tree speciesthan in Europe.

l Trees responsible for vibrant shades include maple,oak, hickory, dogwood, poplar, birch and aspen.

l The colours are produced by different pigments.Some create yellows and oranges, others reds andpurples.

l The onset of cooler weather after warm summerdays is the trigger.

l Higher elevations change colour earlier than lowerareas.

l Websites with up to date information and mapsduring the US leaf-viewing season from Septem-ber-November include the Foliage Network(www.foliagenetwork.com) and the WeatherChannel (www.weather.com).

“Autumn isfar morethan fallingleaves; it is atime ofmellow daysandharvests”

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Autumn is wine harvesting time and a good time tovisit wineries for a tour and tastings. You can go onbiking tours through vineyards in places such as Solvangin California’s Santa Barbara wine country and Sonomaand Napa Valley further north. There are also wine harvest festivals, such as the

Paso Robles Harvest Wine Weekend(www.pasowine.com/events/harvest.php) in CentralCalifornia, from October 19-21.The wineries of France, Spain and other European

countries are also busy harvesting and there are festivalsin Spain’s sherry capital, Jerez de la Frontera, and acrossTuscany in Italy among wine-growing centres.You can take autumn wine tours across Europe with

specialist companies including Arblaster & Clarke (www.winetours.co.uk) and Grape Escapes(www.grapeescapes.net) while, on the home front,English wineries such as Biddenden Vineyards(www.biddendenvineyards.com) in Kent offer freeguided tours during harvest time.Britain can still enjoy surprisingly-warm days during

autumn, as last year’s record-breaking October demon-strated. But if you want to be sure of basking in warmer

temperatures without reaching for your passport, head tothe Channel Islands. Guernsey’s Autumn Walking Week,from September 8-16, has a whole programme of guidedwalks from short walks around the harbour town of StPeter Port to longer coastal rambles, while the AutumnFloral Guernsey Festival (for both, visitwww.floralguernsey.gg/events), from September 29-

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seasonal focus n autumn getaways

autumn afloatOne of the best ways to enjoy the change ofseasons and scenery in autumn is on a cruise. Cultural cruise specialist Swan Hellenic

(www.swanhellenic.com) offers thechance to explore historic cities andancient ruins on its 15-day TheMediterranean World cruise departingNaples on October 24 aboard recently-refurbished Minerva, with highlightsincluding visits to Pompeii and Pisa in Italy,Tunisia’s Sousse and Malta’s Valetta. Pricesare from £1,695 per person.The week-long Autumn in the Inner

Hebrides cruise aboard Hebridean Princessfrom Hebridean Island Cruises(www.hebridean.co.uk) sails from Obanon October 23 through Scotland’s westernisles with prices from £2,000 per person.Tall ship sailing company Star Clippers

(www.starclippers.co.uk) has added new,shorter “taster cruises” with a five-nightmini-cruise from Athens to Malta in Octobercosting just £999 per person, including flightsand transfers. Departing on October 20, thecruise visits Greek ports Monemvasia and

Pilos, plus Syracuse in Sicily.Holland America Line

(www.hollandamerica.co.uk) hasexpanded its South America programmefrom autumn, with three ships cruising theregion on itineraries from 13 to 68 days. Itincludes a 14 or 18-day cruise to Valparaisoin Chile from Boston or Fort Lauderdale on

October 20 or 24 respectively.Some Europe river cruises still operate

during autumn, among them a seven-daycruise between Amsterdam and Basel whichis part of the 13-day Enchanting Rhineitinerary from AMA Waterways(www.amawaterways.com). Departurescontinue until November 10.

October 7, also includes walks as well as talks, lecturesand workshops.

great valueGuernsey is great value in autumn, helped by the six-week Tennerfest (www.tennerfest.com), from October1-November 11 this year, when menus at over 160participating establishments start from just £10. Takeboat trips to the neighbouring, car-free islands of Herm

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or Sark for the day, explore Guernsey’s many attractionsand museums – many indoors if the weather isinclement – or just stroll around St Peter Port. Stay at five-star The Old Government House Hotel and

Spa (www.theoghhotel.com), in the heart of the town,and round the day off with a soothing spa treatment orrelaxing in the garden and around the outdoor heated pool,which is open until the end of October, weather permit-ting. You can also take traditional afternoon tea completewith scones served with jam and Guernsey cream in thehotel’s Sir John Coward Lounge.Around the Mediterranean, many sunshine resorts are

still open right through autumn,with the pace of life

winding down afterthe hecticsummermonths. Youcan oftenfind holi-days atbargainpricescompared withthose in peak

season, and fami-lies can find escapes

during the October half termat better value than in summer.Cosmos Holidays (www.cosmos.co.uk) offers great-

value autumn breaks to destinations including Greece,Spain, Portugal and Turkey. October also sees the launchof holidays to Atlantic island Madeira, criss-crossed byits levada walking trails, with new Monarch flights fromGatwick and Birmingham offering stays from shortbreaks to 14 nights or longer.Cooler autumn temperatures also make it more

comfortable to explore destinations such as Malta’shistoric capital, Valletta (www.cityofvalletta.org). Thecity is a UNESCO World Heritage Site full of 16thcentury Baroque architecture, a legacy of the Knights ofSt Johns, streets dotted with cafes and wine bars, impos-ing city walls and its beautiful Grand Harbour. A goodbase for exploring Valletta is the 136-room, five-starPhoenicia Hotel (www.phoeniciamalta.com), located

at the city gates. It has recently been awarded both theTripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence 2012 and theExpedia Insiders’ Select status 2012, ranking it as one ofMalta’s most popular hotels.

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autumn getaways facts

packagesThese are some of the autumn holidayson offer:

Cosmos Holidays offers a seven-nightcouples’ holiday in Rhodes staying atthe five-diamond Rodos Palladium inKalithea from £546 per person half-board, departing Gatwick on October 3,and including flights but not transfers. The sameholiday departing August 22 costs from £822. www.cosmos.co.uk

For families, Cosmos offers the five-diamond, all-inclusive Hotel PapillonZeugma in Turkey’s Belek resort, featuring two children’s swimmingpools and waterslides, playroom, playground and family rooms. A seven-night autumn half-term stay departing October 21 costs £633 per adultand £289 per child, including flights, compared with £1,101 and £441respectively for an August 15 departure.

America As You Like It’s 10-night Southern New England tour, costingfrom £1,072 per person, starts and ends in Boston and takes in placessuch as Salem, location of the famous witchcraft trials, Martha’s Vineyardand Nantucket. The prices includes flights, car hire and room-onlyaccommodation. www.americaasyoulikeit.com

Let the train take the strain on a seasonal 10-day Falls Colours & ScenicTrains tour with Holidays By Rail that incorporates scenic tourist trains,lake cruises and some coach travel through five of the six New Englandstates. Prices start at £1,379 per person, excluding flights, withdepartures from Boston on September 27 and October 4.www.holidaysbyrail.com

Guernsey’s five-star Old Government House Hotel and Spa, in centralSt Peter Port, offers a two-night Discover Guernsey Autumn package,which includes a hire car, a three-course dinner and a special picnichamper, from £246 per person. www.theoghhotel.com

An autumn break staying in the PhoeniciaHotel, Malta, costs from just £62 perperson, based on two adults sharing forthree nights, based on a City BreaksAdvance Purchase rate.www.phoeniciamalta.com

Hebridean Island Cruises’ Autumn in theInner Hebrides round-trip voyage from

Oban starts on October 23 and includes a fullday tour of Islay, morning visits to Lismore and Eigg and an afternoon onMull, for shopping and strolls in picturesque Tobermory. Prices foravailable cabins range from £2,000-£4,190 per person.www.hebridean.co.uk

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