Cosy Layers & Cuddles: Why Autumn is Actually The Best Season

Summer is great and all; the long evenings, the warm weather, the holidays, the sundresses, but there's a special kind of feeling that we get when autumn comes back around. Obviously, going back to college will mean excessive (why does that sound bad?) drinking and living in semi-poverty, here are 15 reasons why autumn is actually the best season:

1) The Weather

The little nip in the morning air. The sharp, brisk breeze. The first frost of October. It really makes you appreciate the indoors a lot more. Your sitting room, or the snug of your local, anywhere as long as it's warm.

2) The Clothes

The weather starts to get cold. Any "lad" who thinks that it's good banter and that he's hard wearing shorts around is kidding nobody but himself. For any man or woman, there is no finer feeling than your favourite hoody on a comfy autumn evening in front of the telly. All of your finest tracksuits and thickest, woolly clothing, please, my good sir.

3) The Excuses

"No sorry I can't go out tonight, I have an assignment,"- There's you with your hand stuck in the Pringles can, while halfway through Season 3 of Game of Thrones.

"Ah look, it's pissing rain, way too much effort to get to town in that."

"Can't, have exams."

4) Doing Something Different

Instead of going out, you could have drinks with a difference. Grab your bag of cans, get some comfy chairs and a few laidback mates. You can all chip in on the cheap for a garden wood burner (or a chiminea, for those with notions) or go to the effort of digging a little pit for a fire. You better check with the landlord (or your Ma) before you do the pit thing though.

5) Waking Up in The Dark, Going Home in The Dark

Not to everyone's taste, but some people love short evenings and starting and finishing the day in darkness. We have a bit to go yet, but for anyone looking forward to it, the clocks go back on the 25th October. P.S. For you sad mofos who hate this point, it means an extra hour in bed.

6) The Food

The comfort food. You're already wrapping up the summer bod, so why not add some natural insulation? Wintering well starts in the Fall. The stews, the soups, the Shepherds' Pies, the pasta bakes and your Ma's roast dinners. Then for dessert? A seasonal apple pie you say? A LARGE slice, please, I say.

7) The Drink

A creamy pint in front of a fire in a cosy pub is 54264376987237098320802 times better than a pint bottle of Bulmers in a beer garden of a summer's day. So too is deciding you'll nip in for a hot one when you have a 3-hour break between lectures on a fresh September afternoon. Or when you get home from college and your Ma or your housemate offers to make a cup of tea. Oooh.

8) The Telly

Netflix and online streaming are king these days, but the TV scheduling bosses know their shit when the autumn evenings come knocking. I mean, what do you do after 6 hours watching House of Cards on your laptop? Watch The Graham Norton Show on BBC, that's what.

9) This

10) The Snuggling

Please don't lie to me or to yourself, EVERYONE loves a little cuddle. It's biologically ingrained in our bodies. Lucky suckers who already have a S.O. will know this. So get yourself a cuddle (fuck) buddy and settle in for the night. N'awwwwh.

11) Hallowe'en

Whatever way you like to celebrate this, it's a nice evening. Getting f**ked up in fancy dress is always a good laugh. But so is keeping all the trick or treat sweets for yourself and watching some horror movies (or Hocus Pocus, which is how it usually starts, be honest).

12) The Colour

Orange is the colour of the colder months. The obvious ones, like the colour of the leaves and Hallowe'en decorations. But also the glow from a fire, from a candlelit room, from the bedside lamp while you're reading a good book. So, to sum up, the colour of autumn is glowy. Glowy.

13) This.

Sshhhh, no one mention the C-word. *Whispers something about the Toy Show*...

14) The Music

Need a soundtrack to your autumn commutes? Everyone has their own tastes but think soft, acoustic ballads, cool jazz, smooth soul and some of the old classic crooners. Perhaps give this playlist a listen for some ideas.

15) The Coming Home

From college at weekends, reading weeks and eventually for Christmas; is there a better feeling during these autumn months than coming home to your own warm abode? The answer to that can be found when you take your first bite of your Ma's roast potatoes.