Best websites for... leaf-peeping: Where to feel the autumn crunch beneath your feet

Seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness...It's a nice line, but Keats' eulogy of autumn omitted the best thing about the season: the changing colour of the leaves from green to a multi-coloured palette of bronzes, oranges, crimsons and scarlets.

Fantastic fall: A seasonal walk can put you in the midst of a riot of colour

October is the prime month for viewing the autumn foliage. To find out where to go, both at home and abroad, turn to the following websites.

www.visitwoods.org.uk

Contained on the database of the Woodland Trust's website VisitWoods.org.uk are over 11,500 woods across the UK. These include those of major landowners such as the Forestry Commission and the National Trust, as well as often less heralded public-access woods owned by local councils.
Type in your postcode, and up comes a list of woods near you, plotted, if you so wish, on a map. For some woods, there are brief descriptions and photos. More importantly, you can narrow your search by the facilities that are available (eg loos, café), accessibility (eg on-site parking, public transport stop nearby), and features - including woods that are good for autumn colour. You'll also find 10 of the best woods for autumn colour, and family-oriented suggestions for things to do in woods this autumn, including identifying different types of leaves and fungi.

Forest of ideas: Tap in your postcode to visitwoods.org.uk and you'll be rewarded with info on local woodlands

www.forestry.gov.uk/autumn

You can't predict exactly when the autumn colours will be at their very best. So turn to the autumn section of Forestry Commission's website for help. Plotted on to a map are several dozen popular woods and forests with icons on various colours - click on them and they will say whether the leaves are still green, turning yellow or are golden. There's also a list of top 10 woods for autumn colour. Number one is Westonbirt (the National Arboretum) in the Cotswolds, where the crowds descend each autumn to admire, among other things, the displays of Japanese maples.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk

In properties such as Stourhead and Winkworth Arboretum, the National Trust has some of the best gardens and parkland to view the autumn foliage. The trust's website lists and describes a selection of the best spots, and there's a host of other information, from autumn food events to downloadable walks marked up on maps.

Red October: Japan (Mount Fuji, pictured left) is famous for its crimson foliage while New England attracts thousands of tourists in leaf-peeping season

www.yankeefoliage.com

Stamp on it: And when the leaves fall, there's plenty to crunch underfoot

Leaf-peeping, as it's called across the Atlantic, is a very big deal over in the United States. To put it bluntly, the spectacle of foliage colours is vastly more impressive over there. Memorable leaf-peeping is possible from eastern Canada down to North Carolina - but it is at its best in New England.
YankeeFoliage.com is a great resource for exploring New England in the "fall", with maps to indicate when and where to find peak colours, suggested foliage drives and bases, lots of dazzling photos, and a useful list of 20 Dos and Don'ts for leaf-peepers (don't stay indoors if it rains - apparently wet weather brings out the most vivid colours). 

www.stormfax.com/foliage.htm

A simple list of links to fall foliage websites focused on individual US states. Click through, and you'll be given predicted peak local leaf-peeping times, plus descriptions of scenic views, hikes and drives. There's also a link to the US Forest Service's fall colours web pages (www.fs.fed.us/fallcolors/2013), which is good on the science behind the changing colours. There are also links to the national forests - however, sadly the current US government shutdown means that they are closed for the time being