But here’s where it gets interesting. In the UK, summer isn’t really a date —it’s a feeling . And that feeling is notoriously unreliable.

So, when is summer in the UK? Officially, June to August. Practically? It’s a two-hour window on a Tuesday afternoon in July, when the clouds part, the entire office abandons their desks for the nearest patch of grass, and everyone agrees: “This is it. Don’t blink, or you’ll miss it.”

Ask ten Brits when summer is, and you’ll get ten different answers. Check the calendar, and it seems simple: Summer runs from June 1 to August 31 (meteorological summer, based on the annual temperature cycle) or from the summer solstice around June 21 to the autumnal equinox around September 23 (astronomical summer, based on the sun’s position).

Because there’s one ironclad rule of British meteorology: if it’s a public holiday (late May or late August), the weather will turn. You can set your watch by the August bank holiday downpour.

Ask any local, and they’ll tell you the true answer: