This time of year sits on the cusp, the tipping point between the seasons of summer and autumn. Yesterday we had the Autumnal Equinox, the day of perfect balance between light and dark. Some days, even parts of days still feel like summer, but increasingly they are practicing for the dark days ahead. 7.30am yesterday morning and I am out for a ride, unaware that the garden thermometer has lied to me. Climbing away from home I watch the meter on my Garmin drop to 3.5’c and my toes and hands are nipped by the first cold ride at this end of the year. By 9 it is warm enough and by 10 it is back to a blue sky summer’s day. You need to be ready to change your wardrobe by the minute.

The light of summer can wear you out here, so little dark for deep sleep and dreaming. About a week ago we both agreed that the amount of light and dark was just the perfect amount of each. A good day in autumn is a gift with crisp horizons and perfect temperatures for riding, gardening or bumbling about. By late November you will need luck and more than a little application of carpe diem.

Trees have had golden fringes for a few weeks and are now rusting more and dropping their first leaves. Still days to sit on the lawn and soak up the warmth of the day, but an evening by the fire pit will need a jacket. The first geese unseen in the dark of late evening walks, the swallows third broods just fledged and all thinking of heading south.

There are magical things at this time of year. Mushrooms to be gathered on morning rides that link the best places for Chanterelle and the first of the Sloes are ready down near the coast. Wild harvest and the garden set our clocks to the year's rhythm. The Curlews that we saw on their high moor breeding grounds are now back at the coast. Whaup, the Galloway name for Curlew is a little closer to their wonderful watery call that fills the coastal bays now.

This is the time of year we like to ride the quiet lanes near Thornhill. The big estates had land to plant trees and perhaps enough interest in shooting game to let them stay and grow. Beech and Oak forest line the roads there more than near the coast. We have a cycling tour called ‘ Castles & Coasts ‘ that begins in Thornhill and we spend a lot of time riding this beautiful area, so different to our home range just a few crow miles away.

Gin is bought, 40’ proof is needed for the perfect infusion of Sloes. The first, second and third batch of Sloes are picked and placed in the freezer for a few days and then distributed to the Kilner jars. The first 10 days the brew is stirred daily and then weekly as the gin turns from pink to red and then deep crimson. We make 6 litres but is that enough for winter nights by the fire?

Gravel riding is becoming the big bike thing and we bought our first bikes three years ago almost on a whim. The Galloway forest is perfect for long rides without once touching a road and with local knowledge the coast near us is great for those stunning cliff top rides linked by coastal track and trails. Gravel rides and coffee stops go together and now is the time to pick up these wide tyred bikes and borrow a friend's dog - Cooper the Gravel Dog.

Summer rides all rather blur together, but a perfect autumn ride stays with you for months. The clarity of the sky on the first night of frost and the first crisp view of the Milky Way over our home. You push your luck to make plans more than a day or so ahead, the rewards of the brave. There will be special days ahead in the next month or more, you just have to get out, dress right and ride a bike.

River Urr Estuary near Palnackie and Kippford

On the cusp of Autumn

Galloway Cycling Holidays

On the cusp of Autumn

From Snow to Snowdrops

First steps to capture the sublime Galloway landscapes in motion

Galloway Cycling Holidays