Red Oaks - Clipstone Forest (October 2018)

A week or so earlier I had gone searching for red oaks and some early autumn colour in Sherwood Forest. This time I visited a two areas in Clipstone Forest where I had previously seen red oaks and hoped that the colours the had developed further.

Red oak leaves tend to colour earlier than the native varieties and one of ways to distinguish between the two is the shape of the leaves. The native varieties, English and sessile oaks, have lobed shapes leaves whilst the red oaks are more pointed and angular.  

When I arrived at the location I found some vibrant autumn colours:

I then took some close-ups using the fine sunny conditions to backlight the leaves and emphasise the colours: