Credit: Cristian M Balate, via Shutterstock
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If you’re looking outside at the miserable, dark, cold nights, fret not because warmer and sunnier evenings are on the way. It’s been a pretty long winter already, with some shockingly cold temperatures across the country (and snow potentially on the way), but relief is coming soon. The shortest day of the year has been and gone, and the days are slowly getting longer. And you know what that means – 8pm sunsets will return to London soon!
Sure, the sun currently sets at a melancholy-inducing 4pm every evening. But that’s slowly changing. And this year, to save us from the darkness, the clocks will change for British Summer Time on March 29 – a day earlier than 2025. This brings the 8pm sunsets of 2026 even closer!
Who’s ready for lazy evenings sat outside the local pub or wine bar, or kicking back with tinnies in the park? I sure am!
Credit: Paul Daniels, via Shutterstock Sunset times to keep an eye out for
If you’re counting the minutes of each day and keeping an eye out for late sunsets, here are some days with particularly delightful times. With each one, the long days and balmy evenings of summer draw ever closer.
- January 21: the first 4:30pm sunset of 2026
- February 7: the first 5pm sunset of 2026
- March 13: the first post-6pm sunset of 2026
- March 18: the first day with more sunshine than nighttime (12 hours and 2 minutes of sunshine)
- March 29: the clocks spring forward for British Summer Time BST
- April 17: the first 8pm sunset of 2026
- May 26: the first post-9pm sunset of 2026 (days last for over 16 hours)
- June 21: summer solstice – the longest day of the year
Altogether, we Londoners will be able to enjoy 132 days where the sun will set after 8pm. There will also be 60 sunsets in 2026 that take place at or after 9pm.
The latest sunset of the year will take place on June 24 or 25.
So, fret not about the gloomy days outside. They won’t be around for much longer. It’s almost time for the beer gardens, the rooftops, and the flower fields to return.