After a hectic week and a late night last night it was nice to get out of the house for a few hours. It is a good forty-five minute drive up to RHS Harlow Carr in Harrogate from home. The A1 was as busy as ever and I was pleased to be off it as we drove through Wetherby on route for Harrogate. By the time we arrived at Harlow Carr it was 10.45am. The weather was fine and dry, the light breeze was cool but pleasant. I was pleased I had put my winter fleece jacket on as it is always a couple of degrees colder up here than it is at home. The autumnal colours were beautiful although speaking to one of the gardeners he was saying the strong winds took an awful lot of leaves of the trees earlier in the week, despite that, there was still plenty of colour about. From the visitor’s centre we headed over towards the QM lake and followed the footpath which follows the line of the stream. The bark on some of the trees looked amasing, bright red in colour and silky smooth to the touch. The banks of Cornus or dogwood looked colourful too, the reds, whites and yellow quite striking in the dull morning light. We continued following the path alongside the stream past the Old Bath house and climbed the path towards the Arboretum, stopping at the bird hide for five minutes to watch the Nuthatches, Bullfinches and Coal Tits feeding, I don’t think I have seen as many Coal Tits in one place before. From the hide we had a very pleasant walk through the trees before heading back past the wildflower meadow and apiary to the main gardens and terraces. There is plenty of colour still in the borders and some of the grasses look wonderful. I always like to have a look at the Sandstone Rock garden and ponds, both offer great photo opportunities no matter what time of the year you visit. Needless to say that by the time I arrived at the ponds it was getting on for 1.30pm, so it was a gentle walk back to the visitors centre and into to the café for brunch.