h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The weather forecast for Thursday was quite good with extended sunny periods. At least much better than today, so it seemed a good opportunity to take a trip out to Winkworth Arboretum to get a last chance to see some autumn colours in the trees and possibly take a few photographs. Winkworth is a National Trust property about 20 miles away and an easy drive past Guildford to nearby Godalming. In itself the drive there is quite rewarding for the countryside views and autumn colours, but we had high hopes of some memorable views with the sunlight bringing out the autumn tints. We arrived at about 11am, parked up and worked our way through a badly puddled car park to the entrance.

There are several walks through the fifty or so acres, some are more challenging than others. The whole landscape is laid out on a valley with quite steep sides along which the various paths meander and interlock. Some of the main route around is surfaced but the majority of the pathways are challenging with flights of uneven steps cut into the hillside and some care had to be taken to negotiate them.

The valley is dammed towards the northern end creating a largish lake. A main focal point from a boathouse at the dam provides a splendid view up the valley with the colours of the trees reflected in the water. Unfortunately we had left our visit a couple of weeks too late and the full colours had gone over. Nevertheless it was still a reasonable show with some of the trees giving their best. We rounded it off with a coffee and a slice of cake.