The Sweet Chestnuts (Castanea sativa) are beginning to fall, a touch earlier than in recent years, though the ones I've seen are well developed and browned off. They are not as you might think a native of our shores, and are believed to have been brought here by the Romans, though they've been her long enough to become naturalized. Spiky buggers when trying to open and collecting, they're well worth the effort as the nuts are delicious and versatile. The nuts, once peeled and the pith (rather astringent) removed, can be boiled, roasted, used as stuffing or paste, ground into flour and made into bread, cakes or used as a thickener; also like many other nuts an oil can be extracted from them. Another of natures autumn gifts.
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