The clocks changing is always a confusing time of year. Even if I can remember the Americanised mnemonic of ‘spring forward, fall back’I’m not too proud to admit that I have to look up what that exactly means every time. Like, do I even need to do anything?
When do the clocks change?
British Summer Time (BST) ends on the last Sunday in October at 2 amwhen it goes back 1 hour, reverting to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). This year, that’s happening on Sunday, October 26. So 2am becomes 1am, 8am becomes 7am, and this means you get an extra hour in bed (hoorah!) The clocks will go forward again at 1am on Sunday, March 29, 2026and we lose an hour (boo!)
For many of us, we’ll hardly notice a thing, but hopefully wake up extra rested, while nightclubbers may get a confused minute or two and keep partying for longer. I feel for those on the night shift, though, who will spend an extra hour working. The only major difference is that sunset will happen that Sunday night a lot earlier than you might expect!
Why are the clocks changing?
You might’ve heard it’s due to agriculture, but I don’t know any cows that work by a watch, or many cockerels or farmers for that matter. But it’s mostly to take advantage of daylight during summer mornings. It’s an idea that’s not as old as you might first think, either. While Benjamin Franklin was an early proponent in the 18th century, the Summer Time Act first introduced British Summer Time to the UK on May 21, 1916.
This has only changed a handful of times since then. During WW2, in the summers of 1941 to 1945, then once more in 1947, British Double Summer Time (BDST) put the country two hours ahead of GMT to save energy on artificial lighting for the war effort. Then, between 1968 and 1971, the British Standard Time experiment kept Britain on GMT+1 throughout the year.
In recent years, some have campaigned for BST to be maintained during the winter, with BDST introduced in the summer (essentially running the country on France time)—citing the energy saving benefits of lighter eveningsas well as a reduction in road accidents. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, this could mean a winter at 10am or even later.
Do I have to do anything?
With most of our modern gadgets like iPhones, smartwatches, TVs, etc., connected to the internet and satellites, they will automatically change overnightwhile most of us are asleep. The only issue will arise in analogue, like your ornamental clocks or ovens, which need to be manually changed… You just need to remember how!
