After a wet summer (particularly August), autumn has been wonderfully dry and bright, with the best display of autumn colour I can remember.
Trees and countryside on the Lanchester road.
Chopwell wood [54 55 N, 1 47 W] is splendid large area of deciduous woodland to the north of Country Durham (actually in the borough of Gateshead).
Fungi from Chopwell wood. The first two are not readily identifiable (there are apparently about 4000 species of fungi native to the UK!), but the last is probably an Amethyst Deceiver. Although not as threatening as the name suggests, this fungus is apparently not a much of an eater beyond decoration.
A fallen birch polypore (Durham High Wood).
A bracket fungus (Durham High Wood), possibly a grey polypore (bjerkandera adusta) or a many-zoned polypore (coriolus versicolor).
Shaggy parasol (Durham High Wood). Apparently generally eats well, but can occasionally cause severe gastric upsets…
No identification problems here! Hawthorn berries near the Science Site.