I don’t know about you, but these lighter early mornings have been a long time coming — and we’re loving it. In less than a month, we’ll be swapping Greenwich Mean Time for British Summer Time (BST), also known as daylight saving time, when the clocks go forward by an hour.
With longer days within reach, it’ll soon be time for evening walks, al fresco dining in Yorkshire’s beer gardens and making the most of the sunshine after such a wet winter.
But when do the clocks go forward?
The clocks go forward on Sunday 29 March, just over a week into spring, marking the start of British Summer Time. As tradition dictates, most of us will forget until the morning itself. The change happens at 1am, when clocks move forward to 2am — prompting the annual debate about whether we’ve lost an hour of sleep or gained an extra hour of daylight.
What is British Summer Time?
British Summer Time is simply the period when the UK moves its clocks forward by one hour during the summer months so that it stays lighter later into the evening.
Why do the clocks change?
The practice began in the UK in 1916 as a way to make better use of daylight hours and maximise sunlight. At the time, it allowed people to work longer hours and helped conserve fuel during the First World War.
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