The Upper Tay Valley

This series of autumn/ winter photos of Highland Perthshire has been submitted by George Scott of Aberfeldy.

This shot shows Aberfeldy sitting in the upper Tay valley with the Breadalbane hills beyond.

Great photos George. Anyone else interested in submitting photos from anywhere in Scotland, we are delighted to have them and will give you due credit.

The Pass of Lyon in Autumn

Looking out over Loch Rannoch

Loch Rannoch again.....

Mist in the valley of the Tay

Sheep pens at West Rannoch

Going down in to Glenquaich

Autumn trees at the Queen's View

No Schiehallion

Schiehallion is lost in the clouds today. It should be up a the back, left somewhere....... Queens View, Tay Forest Park.

Taking photos......

Autumn past its' peak.......

With all the rain over the weekend, the autumn colours are not now so spectacular, with many trees having lost their leaves already

Aspen in the Allt Mhor, Keltneyburn

The yellow tree in the middle here is an aspen. You can see others left and right as well which have lost slightly more of their leaves. Aspen trees really stand out at the moment, although some have lost their leaves already entirely.

What native species might these be??

In the background here are what look like two bushes that appear to be on fire. They are native species, but can you guess what they are?

The tree in the foreground/ middle is a massive ash, and makes the two in the background look a lot smaller than they actually are.

See below for answer.

The burning bush.......

This is a very old wild cherry tree, clearly an ancient tree, much bigger than what it looked like on first sight. The colours are wonderful. At first glance, this tree looked as if it was on fire.......very spectacular.

An ancient tree......

Far from being just a bush, this is clearly a very impressive ancient tree.......

Wild cherry leaves.......

And again.....

Above the dyke......

Twisted trunk

You can see the way that this trunk is twisted around.......

Another angle.......

Autumn in Highland Perthshire

This is Comrie Bridge over the lower river Lyon.

If you have any really good photos of trees this autumn, why not forward to me at victor.clements@scottishnativewoods.org.uk and I will blog them and credit you for them. Photos should be sent uncompressed sothat they can be expanded to full screen size.

Ash tree standing out above Weem

Beech and Scots Pine

Elm leaves

Hazel leaves

The lower Lyon

Elm leaves

Closer.....

Beech trees

A non-native.......

Elm leaves by the Lyon

Oak on the left, ash on the right

Rowan Berries

Through the birches

Autumn berries

Silver birch in Glenlyon

And again.....

And again......

The Lyon by Meggernie

The pinewoods at Meggernie in Glenlyon

Wild cherry leaves in autumn

Autumn trees above Weem today.......

autumnal views

The west coast mix of woodland, open space, water, hills and islands shows up well in the autumnal light.

More autumnal fruits

We're having a fine spell of weather, and it's good to make the most of autumn. Here's a sloe hiding away in the still green leaves of a blackthorn thicket (and now helping to make some sloe gin for 2010).

These red berries are the fruit of the honeysuckle, a plant that becomes very common in our Atlantic woods if the grazing pressure is not too high.

This birch seed is halfway gone. Sticking out from the end of a twig the seed gradually disperses everytime the wind blows. You can see individual seeds at the top of the stalk waiting to go, then some bare stalk where the wind has already done its work, and a cluster of seed at the bottom still waiting for the breeze.

This acorn is also perfectly ripe and just waiting for an excuse to part company with the parent oak tree

Autumn Berries- Hawthorn berries or "hawes"

Autumn Berries- Rowan Berries

Autumn berries- Wild rose hips.......

Autumn Berries- Blackberries