But it was clearly worth waiting for. Nature is putting on a stunning show around Durham Cathedral – with the Unesco World Heritage site surrounded by red, green, brown and yellow trees.
And a kaleidoscopic display of warm hues is also greeting visitors to the National Trust’s Sheffield Park and Gardens in Uckfield, East Sussex, who embraced the sights and sounds of the season.
BBC2’s Gardeners’ World host Monty Don earlier said his garden was “barely autumnal” in the last few days of October.
The 68-year-old presenter added: “Most of the leaves are still green and clinging to the trees and hedges and, although it has been wet, October has been mild.” Weather forecasters have warned that although Britons enjoyed a break from heavy downpours over the weekend, more is on the way.
Flooding is expected in 34 areas in England, mostly in the South, East and the North-East, according to the Environment Agency. A further 140 alerts are in place for possible flooding spanning the North-East and Midlands.
It comes after Storm Ciaran battered Northern Ireland, England’s south coast and the Channel Islands last Thursday, leaving nearly 150,000 homes without power. Simon Partridge, of the Met Office, warned conditions are set to remain unsettled this week, with sunshine and blustery showers for many plus a band of heavy rain on Wednesday.
He said: “It will see wet and windy weather moving across all parts of the UK, with some locally heavy rain.”
Meanwhile, a major incident has been declared after thousands of people were left without water when Storm Ciaran caused issues at a treatment works.
Thames Water said it was “really sorry about the continuing water supply problems” suffered by people in areas including Guildford and Godalming in Surrey.
It added that the storm created issues at the Shalford water treatment works.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, MP for South West Surrey, is “very concerned” after Thames Water said at least 13,500 homes had been affected and a further 6,500 were expected to lose supply.
East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service has issued an urgent warning to motorists after being called to incidents where cars have become trapped in floodwater.
