When to switch your clocks back as British Summer Time comes to an end

British Summer Time ends this weekend, and the UK will gain an extra hour in bed when the clocks go back at 02:00 BST on Sunday, October 25, 2026. At that moment, the time becomes 01:00 Greenwich Mean Time, marking the return to GMT for winter.

The change means sunsets will arrive an hour earlier, although mornings will initially feel brighter as sunrise also moves earlier. Most phones and other connected devices should update automatically, but analogue watches and clocks will need to be changed by hand.

The BBC reports that most of Europe will make the same change on Sunday, October 25. Egypt follows on Friday, October 30, while North America waits until the first weekend in November. The UK clocks will not go forward again until Sunday, March 28, 2027.

Daylight saving has been used for more than a century. Germany first adopted it in 1916, during World War One, to save fuel by making better use of evening daylight, and other countries, including the UK, followed. The BBC says there are currently no plans in the UK to end the twice-yearly change, despite periodic debate about making daylight saving permanent.

That debate has also surfaced in the United States, where the BBC reports that a 2026 bill to make daylight saving time permanent was approved by 308 votes to 117. Supporters argue for lighter evenings, while critics warn that permanent daylight saving would mean darker winter mornings, a concern raised especially for Scotland.