September - Hope for Summer's Last Hurrah
September is mild but noticeably cooler and slightly wetter than the summer months. Bring layers, a rain hat and an umbrella to cope with any eventuality. Mornings and evenings are quite cool and often surprisingly bright compared to the rest of the day. Though it rains - at least a little bit - one day out of three in England - more in Scotland and Wales - if you're lucky, you could be treated to a rare blast of Indian Summer.
Average September Climate
England:- High - 64°F (17.5°C)
- Low - 49°F (9.3°C)
- Average daily hours of sunshine - 4.5
- Average monthly rainfall - 2.9" (73.4mm)
- High - 57°F (14°C)
- Low - 45°F (7°C)
- Average daily hours of sunshine - 3.48
- Average monthly rainfall - 5.5" (140mm)
- High - 61°F (16°C)
- Low - 48°F (9°C)
- Average daily hours of sunshine - 4.19
- Average monthly rainfall - 4.9" (124mm)
September Daylight
Now days will be getting noticeably shorter. Compared to the 17 to 19 hours of daylight in July, expect about 12 1/2 to 12 3/4 between sunrise and sunset and between 13 1/2 to 15 hours of useable daylight. Toward the end of the the month, some attractions may reduce their opening hours, but for the most part, gardens and other attractions still operate summer schedules.September Highlights
Music, Literature and The Arts
- ArtsFest Birmingham
- Windsor Festival
- The Agatha Christie Festival
- Jane Austen Festival
- Open House London - Architecure and design
- The Wigtown Book Festival in Scotland.
- The Creetown Country Music Festival
Heritage Festivals
- Findon Sheep Fair
- The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance
- Moreton-in-Marsh Country Show
- Newent Onion Fayre Centuries old Gloucestershire festival of everything oniony. Onion eating contest, onion competitions, hundreds of varieties of onions. Annually, Second Saturday in September.
Food and Drink
As Britain shakes off its dated reputation for bad food and celebrity chefs proliferate - on television, in the press, in restaurants and gastropubs - the food festival has become a mainstay of the tourism calendar in communities all over the country.Ranging from an afternoon under a marquee to ten days in venues all over a county, the typical festival features:
- tastings
- sampling of restaurant dishes
- opportunities to buy local product and specialities
- discounts or events at local restaurants
- cooking demonstrations and master classes.
- Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival ten days along the East Suffolk Coast with a two-day showcase at Snape Maltings.
- The Great British Cheese Festival, Cardiff Castle.
- The Nantwich Food & Drink Festival A showcase of the best of Cheshire that has become a standby of the national foodie circuit.
- The Scottish Food Fortnight events, markets and fairs all over Scotland.
- The Ludlow Marches Food and Drink Festival
- Alnwick Food Festival
- Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival
- Beer Festivals September is a superb month for anyone in search of a chance to sample hundreds of boutique and microbrewey beer and ales. There are beer festivals all over the country. CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale lists 27 different beer and ale festivals throughout the month. Find a beer festival along your route.
Sports
- The Great River Race
- White Air Extremem sports and music in Brighton
- National Carriage Driving Championships Mid September at Windsor Great Park
- The Burghley Horse Trials Major date the three-day eventing and world-class dressage calendar. Olympic class riders and teams usually compete in early September.
- Animal Windfest Wild beach and water sports in Poole, Dorset
Weird and Wonderful
- Egremont Crab Fair home of the World Championships of Gurning
- UK Air Guitar Championships A wild club night on the beach in Brighton
- The World Stone Skimming Championships On Easdale Island, the smallest inhabited island of the Inner Hebrides, an abandoned slate quarry makes the perfect site for that breathtaking, record breaking, flat stone skim.
