It’s not just Halloween decorations, appearing earlier and getting bigger every year. Some spiders do indeed become more noticeable as the evenings draw in.
Prominent among them are cross spiders. They, or more precisely the females, are big enough to be noticed as they sit patiently in the centre of their webs. They’re common in gardens, and can sometimes be found is sheds and other outbuildings.
The males are much smaller – earlier in the year, the females were, too, before they built themselves up in preparation for laying their eggs.