UK clocks will go back in October 2026 – here's what you need to know
It won’t be long until the sun will set before 5pm
Britain is heading towards the end of British Summer Time, with the clocks set to move back by one hour next month.
The days are getting shorter and autumn is settling in across the UK, which means the annual clock change is now on the horizon.
In 2026, clocks across the UK will go back on Sunday, October 25, marking the end of British Summer Time (BST) and the return to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
The change will take place at 2am, when clocks will move back to 1am. For many people, that will mean an extra hour in bed, although the trade-off will be noticeably darker evenings.
The UK's clocks will change in the early hours of Sunday, October 25.
At 2am BST, the clocks will be put back one hour to 1am GMT. This means the hour between 1am and 2am effectively occurs twice.
The date is determined by the UK's longstanding system of changing the clocks on the last Sunday in October. In 2025, the autumn change took place on October 26, meaning this year's switch comes one day earlier on the calendar.
The clock change is part of the UK's daylight-saving system.
During the summer months, the country operates on BST, one hour ahead of GMT. The arrangement is intended to make better use of daylight by giving people lighter evenings.
When summer ends, the clocks return to GMT. The result is more daylight in the morning but less daylight in the evening.
The system has been used in the UK for more than a century. Britain first introduced daylight saving time in 1916, during the First World War.
The October change is often seen as the moment when the transition into winter becomes particularly noticeable.
While the clocks themselves only move by an hour, sunset times continue to become earlier as winter approaches. In London, for example, sunset is expected to be before 5pm around the time of the October clock change.
The upside is that mornings become lighter than they would have been under BST, at least initially.
Most modern smartphones, computers and internet-connected devices should update automatically when the clock change occurs.
However, older clocks, watches, car clocks and some household appliances may still need to be adjusted manually. The Royal Observatory Greenwich recommends checking devices that do not automatically synchronise with the correct time.
For people who are asleep when the clocks change, the switch effectively creates an extra hour during the night.
However, the change can be more complicated for people working overnight. Anyone scheduled to work through the 1am–2am period should check how their employer handles the repeated hour and how it affects their shift.
The return to BST will come in spring 2027.
The clocks are scheduled to move forward by one hour on Sunday, March 28, 2027, when the UK switches back to British Summer Time.
For now, however, the message is simple: Sunday, October 25 is the date to remember.
As the final weeks of summer fade away, UK residents can expect brighter mornings, darker afternoons and one extra hour of sleep when the clocks fall back.