“As I looked up from the field tracks of the Woodcock, I was instantly captivated by the entrancing effervescence of a wall of suspended icicles, frozen in time. The rock face had been encased by mosses, ferns and the gigantic teeth of winter’s farewell.”

“I am yet to meet anyone who doesn’t find them endearing. Perhaps it is because they are renowned for their laziness? Or maybe it’s because they turn increasingly ginger with age? A contributing factor is surely that their young are known simply, as hoglets.”

“So, what if I was to tell you that a winter’s walk not only has the potential to reveal the folkloric customs of elves and witches, but may also present you with the unusual entities of frozen cat’s tongues and yellow brains?”

“After a short while, it slid clumsily down the rock face. Wondering if this would be the moment, we watched in anticipation. The pup quickly provided us with an answer by bounding straight over to the next rock pool, which was subsequently followed by more flapping and clapping. Clearly not quite ready to take the plunge just yet, but at least it was enjoying itself.”

“Many of us will instantaneously associate the autumn months with colour, and most of the time this is referring to the ever changing leaf shades as the green pigments of chlorophyll production begin to wane. Alternatively, this time of year also brings a somewhat rarer myriad of tints and tones, in the form of a very unique genus of fungi - Hygrocybe, also known as waxcaps.”