The whole United Kingdom shares one clock: Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, UTC+0) in winter and British Summer Time (BST, UTC+1) from late March to late October. Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London always show the same time.
Where these times apply
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, plus the Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man), all keep the same time. British Overseas Territories such as Gibraltar, Bermuda and the Falklands use their own time zones and aren’t included here.
When do the clocks change in the UK?
Clocks go forward one hour at 1:00 a.m. GMT on the last Sunday of March and back one hour at 2:00 a.m. BST on the last Sunday of October. The UK switches at the same instant as the European Union, so the one-hour gap to Paris and Berlin never changes.
British Summer Time was first introduced in 1916. From 1968 to 1971 the UK experimented with staying on UTC+1 all year, and Scotland in particular disliked the very late winter sunrises.
Long summer evenings, short winter days
Because the UK stretches from 50° to 60° north, day length varies dramatically. In late June the sun sets after 9:30 p.m. in Edinburgh; in December it rises after 8:30 a.m. The city clocks below include each city’s current local time so you can compare at a glance.
Business hours in the UK
Offices typically work 9:00 to 17:30, Monday to Friday. In England and Wales, large shops may open for only six hours on Sundays (usually 10:00–16:00 or 11:00–17:00); Scotland has no such limit.
Clock changes in 2026 and 2027
| Zone | 2026 changes | 2027 changes |
|---|---|---|
| UK time | 29 Mar, 01:00 → UTC+125 Oct, 02:00 → UTC+0 | 28 Mar, 01:00 → UTC+131 Oct, 02:00 → UTC+0 |