A red, green and gold morning on the Llangollen Canal, near Ellesmere, with narrowboats echoing autumn shades.

 I’m always hoping to find brightly coloured boats moored along the towpath because they are so photogenic, and it was a real bonus to come across this line-up on a recent trip.

The canal crosses the border between England and Wales, linking Llangollen with Hurleston in Cheshire, and also passing through Whitchurch.

Earlier that morning I also came across a blaze of colour reflected in the Mere, with St Mary’s Church rising above the trees.

The Mere is the largest and most spectacular of nine glacial meres in the area, created by the retreating ice age and subsequent melt water some 10,000 years ago.