When do the clocks change? 2026/2027 dates for British Summer Time

The clocks go back on Sunday 25 October 2026, from 02:00 to 01:00, when British Summer Time ends. That is in 9 days. See the day in the calendar.

After that, the clocks go forward on Sunday 28 March 2027, from 01:00 to 02:00.

Do the clocks go forward or back?

In spring the clocks go forward one hour and British Summer Time (BST) starts: you lose an hour of sleep. In autumn they go back one hour to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT): you get an extra hour. "Spring forward, fall back" is the usual way to remember it. Phones and computers change by themselves.

British Summer Time starts on the last Sunday in March, when 1am becomes 2am, and ends on the last Sunday in October, when 2am becomes 1am. GMT is UTC+0 and BST is UTC+1.

British Summer Time since 1950

Summer time came in with the Summer Time Act 1916. Since 1981 it has started on the last Sunday in March, and since 1996 it has ended on the last Sunday in October, as in the rest of Europe. Before 1981 the clocks changed at 2am GMT, so the times in the table below differ for those years.

From 1968 to 1971 Britain tried British Standard Time: the clocks went forward on 18 February 1968 and stayed an hour ahead of GMT all year until 31 October 1971. So 1969 and 1970 had no clock changes at all.

The EU has discussed ending the clock changes, but that doesn't apply to the UK, and there are no plans to stop them here. The dates below for coming years hold as long as the rules stay the same.

Clock changes year by year, 1950–2050