Good evening.

In Japanese the term mikkaminumanosakura means a moment of sudden, dramatic change and is used to describe seasonal shifts, such as when autumn turns forests from green to gold.

As our woods take on a whole new coat, it’s the perfect time to delve into them, says writer Wyl Menmuir, who has spent the last two years travelling the UK and Ireland exploring our relationship with trees and woodlands for a new book.

As he wanders through pinewoods in the Highlands and Atlantic rainforest in County Clare, he learns about the benefits of these precious places for our health and wellbeing and their importance in our history and folklore. If more people engaged with our woodlands and learnt to love them, they would help protect them - a win for both people and planet.

“Now is the time to get out into the woods, to breathe in the rich scents of fallen leaves and reconnect with our glorious woodlands, to get to know the trees around us better and, in doing so, perhaps learn to protect them better too.” he says.

Elsewhere writers choose their favourite woodland escapes to inspire you to do just that.