LEAVE it to the Americans to come up with a name for gawping at trees.
Leaf peeping was a phrase coined in the Sixties in Vermont and it’s now caught on here.
And no wonder, as Britain puts on a dazzling show every autumn, though this year it will be harder to time.
After the hot, dry summer, the National Trust predicts vibrant but patchy colour, with some gardens running late and others early.
Jacob Lewis reveals the best spots to head to in the next few weeks.
SHEFFIELD PARK & GARDEN, EAST SUSSEX
FOUR lakes double the colour at this Grade I-listed garden, which was planted for autumn.
The tupelo trees turn bright red, and one variety changes colour around ten days ahead of the rest.
By the water, swamp cypresses glow amber.
You can even arrive by steam on the Bluebell Railway, whose station is a 15-minute walk away.
Cost: £19 adults, £9.50 children — National Trust members free.
RICHMOND PARK, LONDON
BELLOWING stags are the soundtrack in October, when the red deer rut reaches its peak.
Head for the Isabella Plantation, a woodland garden where Japanese maples flare crimson and winged spindle bushes turn rosy scarlet.
Entry is free, but keep one eye on the leaves and the other on the stags, keeping at least 50m away.
Cost: Free entry and parking.
WESTONBIRT, THE NATIONAL ARBORETUM, GLOUCS
NEARLY 300 varieties of Japanese maple grow here, setting the Acer Glade ablaze.
A new trail through Silk Wood this year is themed around nine Japanese ideas about the seasons. Book ahead.
Cost: £19 weekdays or £22 weekends, children £5.
BLICKLING ESTATE, NORFOLK
BEECH, oak, lime and sweet chestnut are mirrored in the lake in front of this Jacobean mansion.
Follow the two-mile Lake Walk, then head into the Great Wood, where the beeches glow amber and a pyramid-shaped mausoleum stands among the trees.
Cost: Free entry to parkland — parking £5, NT members free.
CANNOCK CHASE, STAFFS
NOT every tree that turns gold is a broadleaf.
Larches are conifers that drop their needles in winter, and here they blaze yellow against the dark pines.
Follow the Sherbrook Valley trail to the stepping stones, with beeches adding copper along the way.
Cost: Free entry — parking from £1.20.
SHERWOOD FOREST, NOTTS
ROBIN Hood’s old stomping ground is at its best when the oaks turn russet.
Pay your respects to the Major Oak, the giant at its heart thought to be up to 1,200 years old.
Sadly, the ailing tree died this year after suffering drought and heatwaves, but it still stands as a monument.
Oaks turn late, so there’s still plenty of time.
Cost: Free entry — parking £7, RSPB members free.
HARDCASTLE CRAGS, WEST YORKS
BEECH, oak and birch cling to the sides of this steep valley, near Hebden Bridge, above the tumbling Hebden Water.
Follow the riverside path to Gibson Mill, a cotton mill built around 1800, then grab a drink from its Weaving Shed Cafe and sit out by the millpond, hemmed in by trees.
Cost: Free entry — parking £5–£8, NT members free.
LOUGHRIGG TARN AND ELTERWATER, CUMBRIA
FOR the classic Lake District postcard view, walk the easy four-mile loop from Elterwater village via Skelwith Bridge to Loughrigg Tarn.
On a still day, the Langdale Pikes, the craggy peaks at the head of the valley, are reflected in the water, framed by turning woodland.
Cost: Free entry — paid parking, NT members free.
ALLEN BANKS AND STAWARD GORGE, NORTHUMBERLAND
KEEP an eye out for elusive red squirrels in this deep gorge carved by the River Allen.
Most of its beeches were planted in the 19th century, and they spill copper and gold colours down the valley sides.
The riverside path then leads to medieval ruins and a Victorian summer house.
Cost: Free entry — parking £3–£5, NT members free.
COED Y BRENIN, SNOWDONIA
PISTYLL Cain plunges into a dark pool deep within the 9.000-acre King’s Forest.
You can reach it via a 2.2-mile walk beside the River Mawddach, leaving conifers behind for broadleaf woods and the ruins of old gold mines.
Cost: Free entry and parking at Tyddyn Gwladys.
LOCH AN EILEIN, CAIRNGORMS
A RUINED 13th-century castle on an island steals the show here.
In autumn, the birch, rowan and aspen of the ancient Rothiemurchus Forest flare gold against the dark Scots pines.
The flat 3.5-mile loop is easy for kids. Scotland turns first, so don’t hang about.
Cost: Free entry — parking £5 per car.
TOLLYMORE FOREST PARK, CO DOWN
GAME Of Thrones fans will recognise this forest at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, which was used as a filming location.
Walk the River Trail along the River Shimna, crossing stepping stones and some of its 16 bridges beneath beech and oak.
Cost: Free on foot — £5 per car.