Country diary: autumnal reds and golds burn brightly

Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: This jumble of trees with its double flash of spring blossom and autumn colour is what marks the seasonsThe sun, a huge rose floating in the mist, opens as wood pigeon flocks return to fields, leaving trees smouldering with October fire. The trees on Wenlock Edge that really burn with autumnal reds and golds are on the rose spectrum: wild cherry and wild service. Both Prunus avium – gean, mazzard or wild cherry – and Sorbus torminalis – checker, cheque