The clocks will spring forward in March, bringing lighter evenings to the UK as British Summer Time starts.
Throughout this period, most everyday chats amongst Britons centre on two subjects: the freezing temperatures outdoors or the dreary gloom. But these conversations won’t persist for much longer.
Whilst it feels like spring has arrived, courtesy of the recent spell of pleasant weather and sunshine, alongside the first blooms emerging on trees, it doesn’t technically begin until the spring equinox.
Though we can’t pinpoint the precise day Britain will experience warmer, sunnier conditions, we do know when the sun will set beyond 8pm. The clocks springing forward always happens on the final Sunday of March, which marks the start of British Summer Time.
In 2026, this means we’ll benefit from lighter evenings a day earlier than the previous year.
Britain’s clocks will spring forward, signalling the beginning of British Summer Time on Sunday, March 29.
The clocks will leap forward at 1am to read 2am instead, meaning we’ll sacrifice an hour.
An easy method to remember how the clocks change across the year is to imagine them “springing” forward in spring and “falling” back in autumn.
During summer, the clocks are moved forward following a campaign from the early 1900s designed to adjust clocks for the summer months, known as British Summer Time.
The original campaign proposed that by changing the clocks in summer, people in the northern hemisphere could make better use of the extended daylight hours.
Most internet-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tend to update automatically. However, certain devices may require users to carry out manual updates themselves.
Here’s the time sunset will occur across major UK cities on March 29, from earliest to latest.
London – 7:28pm
Birmingham – 7:36pm
Manchester – 7:38pm
Cardiff – 7:40pm
Edinburgh – 7:44pm
Glasgow – 7:48pm
Belfast – 7:54pm
The UK will continue to observe British Summer Time until the clocks go back once more on October 25.
