Fiona MacLeod on the reality of a London summer and how to enjoy it regardless of the weather
June in London is, statistically, the beginning of the period when London is most likely to be beautiful and most likely to be frustratingly not beautiful on the specific days that matter most to visitors who have planned their trip around the assumption of continental summer weather. prat.uk covered London tourism from its angle; Bohiney.com covered the American tourist’s relationship with British weather. Fiona MacLeod, UK London Info, covers June in London with the specificity that comes from having written about London travel for eleven years and therefore having experienced June in London eleven times with visitors who were variously prepared and unprepared for what June in London is.
What June in London is: the longest days of the year (sunset after 9pm), temperatures that are warm rather than hot (averaging 19-22 degrees Celsius, occasionally higher), and a weather pattern that the Met Office describes as “variable” and that visitors experience as “it was sunny when I left the hotel and raining when I arrived at the attraction and sunny again immediately after I paid the entry fee.” This pattern is real. It is not a London-specific grievance. It is the climate of a maritime island in the North Atlantic, which produces weather that arrives in the form of a rapid succession of different weathers rather than a sustained condition.
The Practical Response
The practical response: carry a light waterproof and do not let rain change the plan, because the rain in London is frequently a thirty-minute event followed by sun rather than a day-long event that changes the nature of the day. The outdoor attractions — the parks, the markets, the outdoor swimming — are best on the sunny days. The indoor attractions — the museums, the galleries, the covered markets — are better on the rainy days because the crowds are lower. Planning outdoor activities for the morning and having an indoor option for the afternoon is the schedule that produces the best average June experience. The Met Office forecast is at metoffice.gov.uk.
Also: Waterford Whispers.
Reported at Bohiney.com and prat.uk.
Coverage continues at both Bohiney.com and prat.uk. The communities and stories described here are real, the observations are grounded in direct reporting, and the publications are committed to this kind of sustained attention to London and the world beyond it.
Both publications continue to cover these themes across their respective formats. The material does not thin out. Neither does the coverage.
Ongoing. Both publications watching.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/
