Where to get the best golden tickets
From star-gazing to story-telling, woodland walks to cocktail-shaking, it’s the perfect time to enjoy Scotland’s most glorious season
AT LAST, the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is upon us. If you’re itching for a few days away now that summer is over and there’s a reassuring chill in the air, you’ll find plenty to keep you out and about as the nights start drawing in. From picking your own pumpkins (or neeps for the traditionalists) to admiring the autumn colours, brushing up on literature at one of our best book festivals to experiencing the excitement of an ancient Celtic fire ritual, there really is something for everyone. Just don’t forget to wrap up warm, and if you’re braving the Scottish gloaming, wear your wellies. Here, we look at some of the best activities across Scotland throughout autumn.
ENCHANTED FOREST Tay Forest Park, Perthshire September 29 – October 30
THE spectacular outdoor sound and light show deep inside the Faskally Wood near Pitlochry is back for another dazzling performance, running throughout the month of October.
2022 marks the 20th anniversary of the Enchanted Forest, which over the past two decades has welcomed over 600,000 visitors, and this year the theme is ‘Together’, a nod to the lockdowns during the Covid pandemic.
For the first time they will also be running autism friendly performances. Tickets are already selling like the proverbial hotcakes, so move fast.
Visit www.enchantedforest.org.uk for more details and tickets
SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL STORYTELLING FESTIVAL
October 14-31, various locations
WITH over 240 events, some at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh as well as further afield across Scotland and online, this annual celebration of fables has become the world’s largest storytelling festival.
And given that 2022 has been designated Scotland’s Year of Stories, it has even more relevance than before.
Visit various botanic gardens across Scotland to hear tales ‘of Scotland’s soil and soul’, attend storytelling sessions at Hillfoot Tales in Alloa or the Netherbow Theatre in Edinburgh, and learn about the art of the storyteller online.
By the end of it, you may have a few tales of your own to tell.
Visit www.sisf.org.uk for events and ticket details
LEAF PEEPING Various locations, late September until early November
ONCE a distinctly north American practice particularly popular in New England, leaf peeping – touring the countryside to see the most spectacular foliage during autumn – is becoming increasingly popular in Scotland.
And little wonder. From late September until the start of November the autumn leaves across Scotland burst with reds, russets, oranges and golds, making it perhaps the best time – if the sun shines – to take in the scenery.
Top spots to see the autumn colours include The Hermitage and Lady Mary’s Walk, both in Perthshire, The Falls of Dochart in the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, Glen Affric in the Highlands and the Ben Lawers Nature Reserve near Killin. Oh, and wear boots or wellies: perfect for kicking your way through those beautiful leaves.
Visit www.visitscotland.com for more top leaf peeping spots
FORAGING Various locations, throughout October and November
FROM mushrooms to blackberries to seaweed, there are plenty of tasty treats to forage for in the Scottish countryside once autumn arrives. On various dates in October Totally Wild is running Forage And Cook events at Mugdock and Springburn Parks in Glasgow, as well as at the Moffat Community Nature
Reserve in the Borders, offering a chance to look for flowers, fruits and funghi, before learning to cook a three course lunch using wild and foraged ingredients.
Meanwhile, East Neuk Seaweed is running On The Rocks workshops in Fife teaching newbies how to find and cook Scottish seaweeds, which they promise are not only tasty but also offer health benefits.
At the Findhorn Foundation in Moray, try conscious foraging and a highland banquet involving a threecourse meal of your spoils – or, at Loch of Lowes nature reserve near Dunkeld, Perthshire, take a packed lunch and join Scottish Wildlife Trust expert Tony Wilson for a ‘fungi foray’ in the wilds.
Visit www. totallywild. co.uk, www. eastneukseaweed.com, www. findhorn.org and www.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk for information, dates and tickets
SAMHUINN FIRE FESTIVAL October 31, Holyrood Park, Edinburgh
HELD each year on Halloween night and bringing an ancient Celtic tradition to life through a fiery live performance of the stand-off between the kings of summer and winter, Samhuinn has become an Edinburgh stalwart. Expect fire dancing, drumming, extraordinary acrobatics and vibrant and, at times, terrifying costumes. The festival originally took place on the Royal Mile and Calton Hill, but this year has moved to a new home at Holyrood Park, in order to use the vast space under Arthur’s Seat. Who knows, perhaps such fiery activity might cause the longdormant volcano to spark back into life? For more information visit www. beltane.org
WIGTOWN BOOK FESTIVAL
Dumfries & Galloway, September 23 – October 2 OFFICIALLY designated Scotland’s National Book Town thanks to its wide and varied number of bookshops, it is only fitting that this Dumfries & Galloway gem has a suitable book festival to sit alongside it.
This year’s festival will see authors including Robert Harris, crime writers Lisa Jewell and Christopher Brookmyre, children’s author Lauren Child and sports presenter turned dog commentator Andrew Cotter descend on the town for a range of different events.
There will also be a performance by the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, a daily ‘book at bedtime’, whisky tastings, pub quizzes and Deception Island, an immersive experience set inside an exact replica of an Antarctic hut.
Visit www.wigtownbookfestival.com for event dates and tickets
PUMPKIN PATCHES Various locations throughout October
ANOTHER American tradition that has lily-hopped across the pond, a visit to the pumpkin patch is fast becoming a key autumn activity in the run up to Halloween, particularly if you have young family in tow. And for those who prefer doing it the hard way, some places offer turnips to carve, too.
Kilduff Farm at East Lothian offers visitors the chance to pick pumpkins and, this year, a selection of seasonal dahlias.
The farm also has a shop selling homemade produce including apple juice and honey.
Meanwhile Arnprior farm at Stirling will open its pumpkin patch (they also have turnips and potatoes to dig for) in early October and will also offer hungry pickers a range of local pop-up food trucks selling wood-fired pizzas and artisan burgers.
In the Borders head to Jacksons at Jedburgh for a day of pumpkin carving, broomstick making and animal feeding.
Further north, Loch Ness Pumpkins offers pumpkin picking amid the Affric Hills, with pumpkin donuts and hot rolls available at the nearby tearoom.
Log on to www.kilduff.co.uk, www.arnpriorfarm.com, www. jacksonsatjedburgh.co.uk and facebook.com/lochnesspumpkins for details and tickets
EDINBURGH COCKTAIL WEEK October 7 – 16, events across Edinburgh
NOT only does Cocktail Week last almost ten days, it also features a cocktail village at Edinburgh’s Festival Square, which is surely worth raising a glass to.
There are a variety of events to enjoy, including Dramming In The Dark, an immersive, sensory tasting experience run by Glenlivet; various cocktail masterclasses; comedy nights; tastings and a cocktail and ball pit experience – which sounds like the sort of thing that would only ever be a good idea after drinking several cocktails. Oh, and if alcohol isn’t your thing, mocktails are available too, and there’s even a yoga and mocktail event for those who like a little light exercise with their Virgin Mary. Talk about something for everyone. Visit www.edinburghcocktailweek.co.uk for events, venues and tickets
GALLOWAY FOREST DARK SKY PARK Open all year round, Dumfries & Galloway
IF YOU really want to witness summer fade from the sky, there’s no better place to do it than at Scotland’s own dark sky park in Dumfries & Galloway.
Designated as only the fourth dark-sky park in the world back in 2009 by the International Dark Sky Association, it is perhaps the top place in the country to see our skies as winter approaches.
With around 300 square miles of forest and hills and few inhabitants – meaning there is little light pollution – the park is the ideal spot for sky gazing, picking out stars and constellations and keeping an eye out for meteors or shooting stars.
The Milky Way is said to be particularly easy to spot from the park, and it’s believed over 7,000 stars and planets are visible to the naked eye. Bring a telescope and that number might just double.
Visit www.forestryandland.gov. scot for more information