The UK’s clocks are going back an hour on Sunday, October 26
London’s rainy weather is enough to get anyone down – and it’s about to become even gloomier. The UK’s clocks are going back an hour on Sunday, October 26, signalling the start of early sunsets and shorter days.
However, it does also mean we get an extra hour in bed this weekend so make sure to relish is. The change will happen at 2am, meaning most people will likely not notice it happening.
But, if you’re working a late shift or enjoying a night out then it’ll be just that little bit longer. The UK will then be on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the yearly average of the time each day when the Sun crosses the Prime Meridian at The Royal Observatory.
When the clocks go forward, we’re in British Summer Time and there’s more daylight in the evenings and less in the mornings. This is also sometimes called Daylight Saving Time.
This happens at 1am on the last Sunday in March, which in 2026 will be March 29. Unfortunately, our fine city will be hit with dark early evenings until then, with the sun setting at just 4.45pm on Sunday.
This will rapidly become 4.30pm seven days later and so on. You can see what following the seven days will bring below:
London sunset times after clocks go back
- Sunday, October 26 – 4.45pm
- Monday, October 27 – 4.43pm
- Tuesday, October 28 – 4.42pm
- Wednesday, October 29 – 4.40pm
- Thursday, October 30 – 4.38pm
- Friday, October 31 – 4.36pm
- Saturday, November 1 – 4.34pm
- Sunday, November 2 – 4.32pm
Why do the clocks change?
The idea of daylight saving time was first mentioned in 1784 by Benjamin Franklin, the American inventor, scientist and Founding Father.
However, it wasn’t until 1907 that a serious proposal was made in Britain by builder William Willett. It’s thought he was annoyed his golf games would be interrupted by the sun going down and so began campaigning to change the law.
The first official instance of the clocks changing was made by Germany in the spring of 1916 as a way of conserving energy. The UK did the same a few weeks later, along with many other nations involved in the First World War.
Within a few years of its introduction, a number of countries across the world adopted Daylight Saving Time. However, the benefits of it have been subject to ongoing debate.
Some people say that changing the clocks twice a year upsets the natural rhythm of sleep, which can lead to health problems. On the other hand, darker mornings in winter would be more unsafe, especially for road users.
There are currently no plans to stop changing the clocks in the UK.
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