Autumn comes with plenty of great things \u2013 bright blankets of red and orange leaves, cosy nights in, steaming hot drinks, Halloween \u2013 but it also means saying goodbye to the long hours of sunlight we\u2019ve enjoyed over the last few months. Enjoy the last of the lighter evenings while you still can, because in just a few weeks time, the sun will start to set before\u00a0the clock strikes five.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the end of this month, our clocks will all go back\u00a0one hour, marking the end of British Summer Time and a return to\u00a0Greenwich Mean Time. That means that darkness will descend earlier in the evenings, last longer in the mornings and the days will feel altogether much shorter.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s everything you need to know about daylight savings and\u00a0the clocks turning back this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What date do the clocks go back?<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll all\u00a0get\u00a0an extra hour of sleep (or an extra hour to spend on pints) when the clocks go back on the last Sunday of October. That\u2019ll be Sunday, October 26<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n What time do the clocks go back?<\/p>\n The time rewind will happen at 2am<\/strong> on Sunday morning, October 26.\u00a0<\/p>\n What is daylight saving?<\/p>\n Daylight saving time is another name for British Summer Time and is simply the name for the practice of turning clocks\u00a0forward in the summer so that darkness falls at a later time.\u00a0More than 70 countries around the world, mostly across Europe and North America, follow daylight savings.<\/p>\n Why do the clocks go back?<\/p>\n Daylight saving has been happening in the UK since 1916, but the idea was first put forward by American inventor Benjamin Franklin decades earlier in 1784. It was introduced here during the First World War\u00a0to make better use of daylight hours and get maximum sunlight, allowing people\u00a0to work for longer and save fuel.\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s long been a campaign\u00a0for daylight savings to be scrapped, as many scientists say it negatively impacts our health. You can read more about that here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n When do clocks go forward again?\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019ll go back to British Summer Time on March 29, 2026<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Embrace\u00a0autumn with Time Out\u00a0<\/p>\n Forestry England has said that autumn in the UK this year could be even more vibrant than usual<\/a>.\u00a0Peak autumn viewing runs from now through to November, with some of the most dazzling displays in\u00a0northern England<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 Grizedale Forest in the\u00a0Lake District<\/a>\u00a0and Kielder Forest in\u00a0Northumberland<\/a>\u00a0are tipped among the top spots.\u00a0Thetford Forest<\/a>\u00a0in Norfolk,\u00a0Salcey Forest in\u00a0Nottinghamshire<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Cardinham Woods in\u00a0Cornwall<\/a>\u00a0are also\u00a0stunning places to crunch through fallen leaves under a golden canopy. For more ways to make the most of the UK in autumn, see Time Out\u2019s lists of the most underrated city breaks<\/a>, our favourite coastal getaways<\/a>\u00a0and the most beautiful places in the country<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n ICYMI:\u00a0<\/strong>The most haunted Airbnb in Britain is just 90 minutes from London<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n