Best time to travel

I have heard that it won't be raining this coming bank holiday in the UK. Also there is a Wednesday in October that is looking particularly less cloudy!

My family all live in the UK and this summer seems to have been a washout for them. They had to come to Canada to get some sun.
Saying that, I have travelled at the end of September into October and it rained every day. May seems to be the best time to travel according to people I work with that have gone over at that time of year. June was nice when I was there 3 years ago, with temps up in the high 20's. When I checked the temperature today on the uk newspaper The Daily Mail it said it was 9c so its very hard to predict the UK weather these days. I just cross my fingers and pack a light rain jacket and light layers of clothing.
Pete

There is no least rainy time. I kid you not. You'll hear from people here who will helpfully report in with "We were there in (insert month of your trip) and the weather was great." If you rely on that kind of haphazard information, make sure you bring your raingear, you'll need it. You still think I'm exaggerating about the rainy weather in those areas, aren't you--so go to weather.com, input your locations, and look for the button that says "Averages" and then for the precip graph, and you'll see what I mean (yeah, there's slightly less precip in London in July and August, but like I said, bring your rain gear).As the British are fond of saying: "There is no bad weather, only inappropriately dressed tourists."

I don't feel that the information that people give here should be considered haphazared. I have been to the UK every month from March thru September. On one trip in May we had beautiful weather and no rain during the days, then on other trip in May we had a couple of days with rain. One trip in June was perfect, only one day with rain. One summer when we were there we were at our friends in the Kent area and they told us we should have been there the summer before because they didn't have rain all summer. In March we had a few short rain showers a few days, but nothing that ruin the day. September is a great month for nice weather and less tourist then the summer months. A lot of times when you get up in the mornings you can tell it rained during the night, but you won't have any during the day. What ever month you decide, you will have a great time.

Thanks everyone for your help. I guess I'll just have to decide between the months of May or September and take my raingear. :)

As has always been stated it there is no such thing as a rain free month in the UK. So, that said, you have to not ever let the rain stop you. One trick in Scotland where you have mountains and the lochs affecting the weathers is to be flexible in your travel plans. It truly can be pouring down rain in the west and sunny 50 miles away. It's a small country, but the weather can be very local. That's not to say that there aren't big systems that come through and wipe out everybody. You just have to not let it stop your enjoyment. I always remember the Londoners sitting outside in a cafe with the umbrella up and the rain coming down, but they were enjoying their tea.

Pam

An Irish friend told us to go in the Spring and we did. Some days it rained, some not. It was the only place I've ever been, however, that had the weatherman on T.V. saying, I quote, "spots of sunshine" (vs rain). The weather never really impacted our travel plans other than "say the rain is coming down sideways...lets have a nice long lunch or say...the sun is fantastic lets go take pictures of the coast!"

The advice here seems to be: you cannot predict the weather. Having visited the UK several times at various times of the year, I always prepare for mist, sprinkles, showers and downpours.

UK weather always includes moisture of some kind; so go prepared for all of the above. You will still enjoy the experience and have lots of tales for friends and grandchildren. Even if you see sunshine EVERY day.

I've had really good luck in May. It may just be luck, however, as it can rain anytime, anywhere in Europe - especially on the British Isles.