AUTUMNAL MISTY MOUNTAINS OF AUVERGNE AND TUSCANY
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Among the natural beauty of Les Combrailles lies historical sites, including theManor of Veygoux, the childhood home of General Desaix that today is an interactive museum dedicated to the French Revolution.
The Combrailles is also a land of castles, including the impressive Chateau Rocher overlooking the Sioule River and the 12th century Chateau Dauphin with its impressive gardens. Also discover the churches of the area, Menat Abbey, a cluniac site, the unique capitals of the Saint-Pierre church in Biollet, and the painted interiors of the Saint-Légerchurch in Montfermy.
Also of note is the town of Chateauneuf-les-Bains, a pleasant spa resort located in the Sioule gorges, a part of the Massif Central Spa Trail.
The locals are particularly attached to biodiversity and to the protection of the Combrailles area’s natural resources. This flair for skilled work can be clearly seen in the region's craft industries. The local artisans- potters, spinners, enamellers, ironworkers, sculptors and glassmakers possess unique know-how in their respective fields. Local traditions also live on through the village festivals, markets, fairs and concerts organised here throughout the year!
Whether you’re staying in a hotel, a B&B, a gîte or a campsite, you'll be dealing with accommodation providers and restaurant owners with a passion for their work and their region, all too happy to pass on their enthusiasm for the Combrailles area.
A single house peeks out of a swirl of mist, soft morning sunlight bathes a hillside in pink and orange light, heavy fog turns the landscape ghostly green and swirling mist.
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This mountain glade in the Beskid Mountains in Poland is bathed in ethereal greenish light in Sobas's picture
Une maison médiévale en chaux à Montaigut en Combraille rue de la boucherie 
Montaigut en Combraille, le chemin des jardins potagers
Vue depuis le chemin qui monte au parc du village de Montaigut
Un escalier en pierre qui va vers les jardins potager de Montaigut en Combraille
 
Banc de pierre du chemin de ronde
Chemin de ronde dans sa partie du quartier médiévale de Montaigut en Combraille
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Every single picture tells a different story where the light and conditions are the main characters such as these rolling hills shrounded in mist
The first rays of sunlight turns the clouds pink and the land orange image of this village
The top of a hillside emerges like an island from a sea of mist from this picture
'When I was taking these pictures I stood higher than these houses and was enjoying the sunlight. People who live in these houses slept tight in the darkness of mists.'
The winds were moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread; The trees like torches blazed with light. The bells were ringing in the dale And men looked up with faces pale; Then dragon’s ire more fierce that fire Laid low their towers and houses frail. The mountain smoked beneath the moon; The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom. They fled their hall to dying hall Beneath his feet, beneath the moon. Far over the misty mountains grim 
Cypresses and poplars rise out of the mist while in the foreground a villa sleeps
Village de Montaigut en Combraille prise de la colline voisine au sud. On peut y voir à gauche le beffroi, au centre l'église médiévale, et sur la colline la croix géante dans le parc du château.
 
A hillside is surrounded by clouds and mist while the distant shapes of mountains begin to emerge
  
Prés aux vaches et Rue de la gourgoule qui monte vers le quartier médiévale de Montaigut en Combraille
   
Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old We must away ere break of day To seek the pale enchanted gold. The dwarves of yore made mighty spells, While hammers fell like ringing bells In places deep, where dark things sleep, In hollow halls beneath the fells. For ancient king and elvish lord There many a gleaming golden hoard They shaped and wrought, and light they caught To hide in gems on hilt of sword. On silver necklaces they strung The flowering stars, on crowns they hung The dragon-fire, in twisted wire They meshed the light of moon and sun.
Vue sur les collines depuis le chemin qui va au parc du château de Montaigut en Combraille
Le parc du château à Montaigut en Combraille en Auvergne.
The mountain smoked beneath the moon;
The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom. They fled their hall to dying hall Beneath his feet, beneath the moon. Far over the misty mountains grim To dungeons deep and caverns dim We must away, ere break of day, To win our harps and gold from him! 
Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old We must away, ere break of day, To claim our long-forgotten gold. Goblets they carved there for themselves And harps of gold; where no man delves There lay they long, and many a song Was sung unheard by men or elves. The pines were roaring on the height The winds were moaning in the night. The fire was red, it flaming spread; The trees like torches blazed with light. The bells were ringing in the dale And men looked up with faces pale; Then dragon’s ire more fierce that fire Laid low their towers and houses frail. 
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A wooden hut peaks out of a grey landscape in this photograph from the Beskid Mountains
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When he was taking these pictures he stood higher than these Polish houses and was enjoying the sunlight. People who live in these houses slept tight in the darkness of mists
Vieille maisons et tour médiévale rue de la porte de Montmarault à Montaigut en Combraille en Auvergne
    
This orange Tuscan villa perches on a mountain surrounded by cypresses and poplars, a splash of colour among the grey
The Beskid Mountains, Beskidy in Polish, are a discontinuous series of forested mountain ranges lying in the eastern Czech Republic, northwestern Slovakia and southern Poland.
They are popular for their historic wooden churches and skiing resorts.
A small but growing population of bears, wolves and lynx roam the mountains.
Tuscany, in the central and western areas of Italy, blends gently rolling hills leading on to sharply peaked mountains that pose a formidable barrier between Tuscany and regions to the south.
Autumn leaves and red roofs and green grass begins to emerge from the grey shroud covering this village
This house seems suspended in heaven as the mist surrounds it completely
Pont de Menat (Puy-de-Dôme)
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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)
 
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) #
 
A girl throws leaves in the air at the estate of Mariendaal in Arnhem, Netherlands, on September 30, 2012. (Robin Utrecht/AFP/Getty Images) #
 
Autumn colored trees in Schoenau at the Koenigssee lake, near the southern German city of Berchtesgaden, on October 2, 2012. (Reuters/Michael Dalder) #
 
Pumpkins await shoppers in a field near Munich, Germany, on September 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) #
 
Stars shine above the cabin used by shepherd Pierre Deval in Arvieux, France, on September 14, 2012. (Ed Jones/AFP/GettyImages) #
 
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) #
 
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) #
 
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) #
 
Colored leaves hang from a cherry tree in Kassel, Germany, on October 2, 2012. (Uwe Zucchi/AFP/Getty Images) #
 
Fall foliage begins to appear in the White Mountain National Forest, on September 28, 2012 in Jefferson, New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Jim Cole) #
 
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) #
 
Autumn-colored oak leaves in the Elz River near Emmendingen, Germany. (AP Photo/Winfried Rothermel) #
 
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) #
 
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) #
 
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) #
 
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) #
 
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) #
 
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) #
 
A cow grazes on a meadow near Maierhoefen, Germany, on a sunny and mild September 28, 2012. (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/AFP/Getty Images) #
 
A woman and girl pick up fallen leaves in a park in Minsk, Belarus, on October 4, 2012. (Victor Drachev/AFP/Getty Images) #
 
Leaves along the Androscoggin River are at peak color in Berlin, New Hampshire, on September 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jim Cole) #
 
A red deer bellows during the annual rutting season in the Highland Wildlife Park in Kincraig, Scotland, on October 5, 2012. (Reuters/Russell Cheyne) #
 
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) #
 
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)
 
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) #
 
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) #
 
The view from the Blue Ridge Parkway just south of Asheville, North Carolina, on October 20, 2012. Original here. (CC BY Francis Trudeau) #
 
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) #
 
A man walks under trees near Lausanne, Switzerland, on October 22, 2012. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images) #
 
A half-changed leaf, near Bad Dürkheim, Germany, on October 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Torsten Silz) #
 
Changing autumn leaves, reflected in a pond in England's Sheffield Park Gardens, on October 17, 2012. (Reuters/Luke MacGregor) #
 
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) #
 
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) #
 
Visitors view changing autumn leaves at the Westonbirt Arboretum in England, on October 18, 2012. (Reuters/Toby Melville) #
 
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) #
 
Fall colors on a hillside above East Montpelier, Vermont, on Monday, October 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot) #
 
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) #
  
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) #
 
A woman walks her dog on a misty morning on Hampstead Heath, London, on October 23, 2012. (AP Photo/David Azia) #
 
Fog nestles in valleys below, seen from the Schauinsland mountain in the black forest, Germany, on October 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Winfried Rothermel) #
 
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) #
 
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) #
 
Walkers near the zoo in Berlin, Germany, on October 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Steffi Loos) #
 
A swan lands on a lake on October 17, 2012 in Berlin. (Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images) #
 
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) #
 
The reddening parts of a leaf surround its central veins, photographed near Bad Dürkheim, Germany, on October 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Torsten Silz) #
 
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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