| The autumnal equinox took place on September 22, marking the end of summer and the start of fall across the Northern Hemisphere. Autumn is the season of harvests, festivals, migrations, winter preparations, and of course, spectacular foliage. Across the north, people are beginning to feel a crisp chill in the evening air, leaves are reaching peak color, apples and pumpkins are being gathered, and animals are on the move. Collected here are some early images from this year's autumn -- more will come later as the season unfolds. Americans call it 'Fall Colors'. Never mind the mis-spelling: it's the season between mid-September and the end of October when the leaves on the oaks, maples, birches and elms in New England turn a kaleidoscope of yellows, reds and oranges. It's a big deal in America, and hundreds of thousands of 'leaf-peepers' - as they're known - come from all over the country to see the spectacular display of autumn foliage. Other states promote their own Fall Colors, but the New England region's is the biggest and best. Its popularity does, however, have a downside. During foliage season, it can be difficult to find accommodation, so booking ahead is essential. In addition, some country inns and hotels in the most popular foliage areas may require a two or three-night minimum stay. And on weekends, traffic on the well-known routes through the woods and forests can sometimes be bumper to bumper. | | Leaf-peeping can be an indolently American experience: some visitors simply drive out to the countryside and view the spectacle from their cars, never getting out except to pick up another order of tripleburgers and fries. The more adventurous, however, park their cars and go for a hike or get on their bikes. There are hundreds of walking trails in national and state parks, state forests and reservations. Bicycle touring is easy on the thousands of miles of back roads that wander through woodland, well-maintained villages and red-brick colonial towns. The leaf-peeping season typically begins in the higher elevations and in the north of New England in mid-September before it moves south through October. It reaches the coastal areas of the region at the end of October. The peak of the foliage season, when the colours are at their brightest and best, lasts a matter of days. Depending on the region, and even the year, the timing of the peaks varies. Each state operates Autumn Foliage Hotlines to tell you when and where to go. Some manic leaf-peepers are determined to see the peaks and, like twitchers chasing a rare bird, will drive from state to state in search of the perfect foliage display. The rest of us probably don't need to be quite so enthusiastic: the colours are spectacular whenever you see them. There are many organised coach tours and some train tours. One company runs combined railway/coach tours that depart from Boston and take in all six New England states. But probably the best way to enjoy the Fall Colors is to hire a car. New England has an excellent network of roads and is small enough to get about comfortably in a week. And because it is an historic region, there is much more to see than just leaves. From hamlets with white clapboard churches on village greens to covered wooden bridges, New England is the most quintessentially 'American' region in the country. It has picture-perfect villages such as Stockbridge, Massachusetts, whaling ports such as Mystic, Connecticut, and mill towns such as Lowell, also in Massachusetts. The region's metropolis is Boston, the most civilised city in the country. During the 19th century it was called 'the Athens of America' because of its large population of literati, artists and educators. With 60 colleges aand universities in the greater Boston area, the city offers a rich variety of cultural activities and a vibrant nightlife. Most important, Boston is a compact city. Just 30 minutes from the city centre are fields, gardens, colonial towns and, of course, all those leaves. Autumn colors and mountains of the Teton Range, photographed in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, on October 4, 2012. (Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images) 
2 Alexander Kempt paddles past the Baroque Palace in a hollowed out pumpkin as he takes part in the German Pumpkin Boat Championship on September 16, 2012 in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The 40 participants of the competition may either use one of the pumpkin boats furnished by the organizers or are allowed to use a self-made boat constructed of a pumpkin weighing 200 kilograms or more. (Bernd Weissbrod/AFP/Getty Images) #  
3 A girl throws leaves in the air at the estate of Mariendaal in Arnhem, Netherlands, on September 30, 2012. (Robin Utrecht/AFP/Getty Images) # 
4 Autumn colored trees in Schoenau at the Koenigssee lake, near the southern German city of Berchtesgaden, on October 2, 2012. (Reuters/Michael Dalder) # 
| Grapes of Chasselat, in a container during the first days of the grape harvest in the Lavaux region in Chexbres, on October 2, 2012. Chasselat for white wine and Pinot Noir for the red are the most popular grape varieties produced in the UNESCO Heritage listed Lavaux vineyard which is made of 10,000 terraces, which were started in the 12th century by monks. (Reuters/Denis Balibouse) | | 
6 Pumpkins await shoppers in a field near Munich, Germany, on September 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) # 
| Shepherd Pierre Deval walks in the Queyras valley in Arvieux in the Hautes-Alpes region of south-eastern France, on September 14, 2012. Not far from France's glitzy ski resorts Deval leads his 1,600 sheep across Alpine pastures guarding his charges against predators and infection, and most importantly, ensuring that none are left behind. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images) | | 
8 Stars shine above the cabin used by shepherd Pierre Deval in Arvieux, France, on September 14, 2012. (Ed Jones/AFP/GettyImages) # 
| Russian President Vladimir Putin flies in a motorized hang glider alongside two Siberian white cranes, on the Yamal Peninsula, in Russia Wednesday Sept. 5, 2012. Putin took part in a flight as part of a program devised by environmentalists to lead the endangered cranes, which were raised in captivity, on their migration to Asia. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Presidential Press Service) | | 
10 A hot-air balloon flies over the city of Godewaersvelde, northern France, as the sun rises, on September 30, 2012. (Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty Images) # 
11 Visitors enjoy the evening inside the "Augustiner" beer tent at the famous Bavarian Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, Germany, on October 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) # 
12 Women wearing traditional Bavarian Dirndls pose with beer mugs during Oktoberfest in Munich, on September 27, 2012. Oktoberfest will run until October 7, 2012. (Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images) # 
13 Colored leaves hang from a cherry tree in Kassel, Germany, on October 2, 2012. (Uwe Zucchi/AFP/Getty Images) # 
| Bavarian farmers transport their cows on a boat over the picturesque Lake Koenigssee at dusk, on October 3, 2012. Before the winter season approaches the farmers have to drive their cattle down from their Alpine meadows to a narrow valley that can only be reached by boat. (Reuters/Michael Dalder) | | 
| Children sit on top of a police vehicle as they watch a fireworks display as part of China's Mid-Autumn festival in Shanghai, on October 3, 2012. (Reuters/Carlos Barria) | | 
| Starlings gather on a high voltage electric wire prior to their seasonal migration in Strazeele, northern France, on October 1, 2012. (Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty Images) | | 
| A couple enjoy sunny autumn day in the Tsaritsino estate in southern of Moscow, Russia, on September 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel) | | 
18 Fall foliage begins to appear in the White Mountain National Forest, on September 28, 2012 in Jefferson, New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Jim Cole) # 
20 More than 1,000 buffalo thunder across prairie land during the 47th annual Buffalo Roundup in western South Dakota's Custer State Park, on September 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Kristi Eaton) # 
21 Autumn-colored oak leaves in the Elz River near Emmendingen, Germany. (AP Photo/Winfried Rothermel) # 
22 People walk on a pavement covered with leaves at the place de la Concorde in Paris, on September 22, 2012. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images) #
 24 Morning mist rises from the valley between the sandstone bridge Basteibruecke and the Lilienstein mountain near Rathen, Germany, on October 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Joern Haufe) # 
25 A pair of unicyclists ride under fall leaves along a bike trail by Minnesota Drive in Anchorage, Alaska, on September 24, 2012. (AP/Dan Joling) # 
26 A farmer parades his herd on his way to the Desalpe near Charmey, on September 29, 2012. The Desalpe is a traditional annual Swiss festival marking the descent of cattle herds from their summer Alpine pastures to valleys at the beginning of autumn. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images) # 
27 Two men prepare to weigh an Atlantic Giant pumpkin (Curcurbita maxima) during the Bavarian pumpkin championship on September 29, 2012 in Schwabenhausen, Germany. The award comes with a cash prize of 600 euros. (Peter Kneffel/AFP/Getty Images) # 
30 A picture taken from the mountainous Srinagar-Leh highway shows newly snow-covered mountain peaks at Zojila, 108 km (67 miles) east of Srinagar, on October 4, 2012. A foundation stone laying ceremony for a tunnel on 443 km (275 miles) long highway connecting Kashmir with the Buddhist-dominated Ladakh region was held by the authorities in Sonamarg on Thursday. (Reuters/Fayaz Kabli) # 
31 A cow grazes on a meadow near Maierhoefen, Germany, on a sunny and mild September 28, 2012. (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/AFP/Getty Images) # 
32 A woman and girl pick up fallen leaves in a park in Minsk, Belarus, on October 4, 2012. (Victor Drachev/AFP/Getty Images) # 
33 Leaves along the Androscoggin River are at peak color in Berlin, New Hampshire, on September 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jim Cole) # 
34 A red deer bellows during the annual rutting season in the Highland Wildlife Park in Kincraig, Scotland, on October 5, 2012. (Reuters/Russell Cheyne) # 
35 A couple ride their bicycles during an autumn day in Moscow's Izmaylovsky Park, in Russia, on September 27, 2012. An exhibition and entertainment complex imitating the architecture of old Russian churches and palaces stands in the background. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel) # 
36 Autumn fog rises from trees after a cool night at lake Koenigssee, near Berchtesgaden, Germany, on October 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) They say there is nowhere quite like New England in the fall. But old England is giving the U.S. a run for its money this year, with the trees around the Lake District transformed by the changing season into a glorious tapestry of green, red, copper and gold.
 Mother Nature's autumn show: Visitors to Studley Royal Water Garden, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, got a double delight as the spectacular golds, bronzes, purples and yellows of the leaves were mirrored in the lake 
Spectacular: Sailing boats bob on Derwentwater surrounded by warm russet foliage These spectacular pictures show how the leaves on the trees surrounding Derwentwater in the Lake District have deepened to warm russet hues, forming a stunning backdrop to the placid waters of the lake. They show a picture-perfect autumn day for hikers and sailors in the area, and the Met Office has said temperatures could soar as high as 20C this week thanks to a wave of hot air from North Africa which is due to sweep through the UK from tomorrow.  'Season of mists': The shoreline around Derwentwater in the Lake District has been transformed into a glorious patchwork of autumnal colour 
Autumnal scene: A walker captures the spectacular view across Derwentwater on camera 
The always stunning scenery around the Lake District has been further enhanced with the onset of autumn 
Peaceful: A boat chugs its way across the water of the lake towards the shoreline 
Seasonal splendour: Derwentwater is surrounded on all sides by shades of green, russet, copper and gold 
Conditions look pleasant for a sail across Derwentwater, as forecasters predict unseasonably warm weather ahead this week 
Patchwork: The warm hues of the foliage form a spectacular backdrop to the boats sailing on the lake
 Stunning hues: Homes in the village of Symonds Yat, near Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire, are surrounded by an explosion of autumn colour 
Autumn in miniature: Red autumn leaves on a bonsai tree at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 
Ethereal: Early-morning mist over the Wye Valley in Herefordshire today gives the autumnal landscape an ethereal quality 
Golden leaves: A young family stroll past the Diana, Princess of Wales memorial Red Maple in Kew Gardens as it drops its leaves, which have mellowed to gold 
The fabulous shades of autumn are visible across Britain; here a child plays with the leaves of an Acer tree in Arley, Cheshire 
Morning fog: A cyclist rides through the fog amid golden leaves in Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands 
A jogger gets out and about in the early morning mist in Sutton Park in the West Midlands 
Surrey's Kew Gardens are a riot of autumn colour 
The lawns at Kew Gardens are carpeted with leaves of gold, russet and red this autumn. In Devon the arrival of autumn brought with it the traditional World Bolving championships, held on Exmoor over the weekend. Bolving is the deep-throated unique to red deer stags during the rutting season. The call is designed to frighten off other stags leaving the hinds - females - to the individual stag for mating. Contestants in the World Bolving championships have to roar - or bolve - across a large valley in the hope of getting a stag to bolve back, which scores points with the judges. Over one hundred and fifty nature lovers gathered at Draydon Rails to see the ninth annual contest in aid of the Devon Air Ambulance Trust. Previous winner, Richard Eales, who now organises the event, said the contest started life as a bet among locals in the Rock Inn pub over who could get a stag to call back. Last year's winner Elvis Afanasenko, who lives on the moor, retained his world champion title at the weekend. Bolving was traditionally used across Europe to hunt deer who were a problem to farmers, but difficult to locate. A good call attracted the stags and made them easier to find. 
Quirky: The World Bolving Championships sees contestants trying to get a red deer stag to return a bolve, or mating call 
Rutting season: Contestants practice their 'bolve', or mating call, ahead of the competition on Exmoor National Park 
A contestant calls out to a red deer watched by an audience in Devon 
Champion: Elvis Afanasenko warms up his vocal chords on picturesque Exmoor Autumn is a season of frosty mornings, festivals, and of course, spectacular foliage. Around the north, people have begun to see their breath form misty clouds in the chilly morning air, leaves are reaching peak color, and animals are on the move. Collected here is a second group of images of this year's autumn from around the northern hemisphere. 
Three year-old Annie Wood rides her scooter in front of changing autumn leaves in Sheffield Park Gardens near Haywards Heath in southern England, on October 17, 2012. (Reuters/Luke MacGregor) 
2 A Red Deer stag roars in the early morning light in Richmond Park in London, England, on October 10, 2012. Autumn sees the start of the "Rutting" season where the large Red Deer stags can be heard roaring and barking in an attempt to attract females. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) # 
3 A leaf from an Acer tree turns a warm autumnal red at The National Trust's Tatton Park in Knutsford, England, on October 17, 2012. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) # 
4 The view from the Blue Ridge Parkway just south of Asheville, North Carolina, on October 20, 2012. Original here. (CC BY Francis Trudeau) # 
5 Sam Bauer, 5, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, loads another pumpkin into his wagon during a harvest festival at the Country Apple Orchard in Harrisburg, South Dakota, on Saturday, October 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Amber Hunt) # 
6 A man walks under trees near Lausanne, Switzerland, on October 22, 2012. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images) # 
7 A half-changed leaf, near Bad Dürkheim, Germany, on October 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Torsten Silz) # 
8 Changing autumn leaves, reflected in a pond in England's Sheffield Park Gardens, on October 17, 2012. (Reuters/Luke MacGregor) # 
9 Raindrops gather on the autumn leaves of small bushes in North Vancouver, British Columbia, on October 12, 2012. After a record-breaking dry spell since August, a welcomed several days of rain moved in over the area. (Reuters/Andy Clark) # 
10 Fog covers the Inntal valley as the famous Nordkette mountains are seen on a sunny autumn day in the western Austrian province of Tyrol, on October 23, 2012. (Reuters/Dominic Ebenbichler) # 
11 Visitors view changing autumn leaves at the Westonbirt Arboretum in England, on October 18, 2012. (Reuters/Toby Melville) # 
12 A Roe Deer runs over grassy dunes as the sun rises at Spurn Point on October 12, 2012 in Spurn Head, England. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) # 
14 Fall colors on a hillside above East Montpelier, Vermont, on Monday, October 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot) # 
16 A Red Deer stag, with his head covered in ferns, calls in the Autumn sunshine in Richmond Park, southwest London, on October 14, 2012. (Reuters/Luke MacGregor) # 
22 Cows graze in front of the Rosengarten mountain massif (3,000 meters) in the Dolomites near Bozen, Autonomous Region of South Tyrol, northern Italy's German-Italian speaking region, on October 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) # 
23 A woman walks her dog on a misty morning on Hampstead Heath, London, on October 23, 2012. (AP Photo/David Azia) # 
24 Fog nestles in valleys below, seen from the Schauinsland mountain in the black forest, Germany, on October 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Winfried Rothermel) # 
25 Cranes, on the way to their winter rest places, near the village of Linum about 70 kilometers (44 miles) north of Berlin, Germany, on October 21, 2012. Thousands of migratory birds rest near the village before their trip to the south. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) # 
26 A squirrel eats a wild pear in a park in seasonal colored trees on an autumn day in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, on October 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) # 
27 Walkers near the zoo in Berlin, Germany, on October 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Steffi Loos) # 
28 A swan lands on a lake on October 17, 2012 in Berlin. (Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images) # 
29 A leaf falls from a tree in light breeze as foliage begins to change with the fall weather at Eagle Rock Reservation, on October 18, 2012, in Montclair, New Jersey. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) # 
31 The reddening parts of a leaf surround its central veins, photographed near Bad Dürkheim, Germany, on October 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Torsten Silz) # 
32 A tourist does a handstand under a yellowing tree in Hyde Park in London, England, on October 12, 2012. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images) |
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