The colours of autumn

The colours of autumn are at their best this week, especially enhanced when the sunshine brings out the brilliant oranges and yellows mixed with remnants of green, and London's garden squares are looking spectacular. Drifts of dead leaves obscure the neat pattern of paths and there's something of the wild forest in the ragged look of the half-bare trees. This is Woburn Square in Bloomsbury, a long narrow rectangle of grass bordered by very tall mature plane trees, with terraces of Georgian houses belonging to the University of London on both sides. The simplest arrangement possible, and unlike the garden squares of Kensington and Chelsea, open to the public all year round.