Now the nights have drawn in I find myself thinking of some of the walks I did on those long summer days. A particular locale comes to mind on my familiar stomping ground the Pegsdon Hills.

 One day in August I approached them via a slightly different route than usual which took me through the Hoo Bit nature reserve. The path opens out onto a wonderfully shimmering expanse of grassland which felt like some remote steppe or tundra.

 In fact this area is nestled between the folds of the Chilterns in Hertfordshire and the flatness of Bedfordshire. The lie of the land makes it feel removed from both. Here I felt separate from the crowds and hubbub of town and city. 

 I returned one early evening in September. The sun was low, ebbing towards twilight. The landscape seemed ethereal, otherworldly. I must return to the same spot if we have a cold winter to see it dusted with frost or covered in snow.