Shoulder Season: Pro's & Con's of each

There's actually very little difference between the two times of year, in terms of weather and hours of daylight. Maybe fewer flowers in September, but that's about it. The term "shoulder season" is only useful to describe the Alpine resorts, where there really are two distinct seasons with a huge drop in activity between the two.

I have always experienced really nice weather in England during September. And I think that Fall weather is more eliable then Spring (same as here).
That said, they had incredibly warm (for them) temps. this past May but that was really unusual.
However, in my years of traveling to England in September, The weather has always been nice. But in the UK you NEVER KNOW!!!! Scotland is always a bit
iffier. Happy planning!!!

In the UK summer school holidays are much shorter than the US. The holidays are basically just August.
This means that business activity is at a low in August and in business hotels and London, August is cheaper for hotels than the months either side.

On the flip side if you come outside August and the last week of July you won't have crowds of noisy kids everywhere you go.
Mid July a lot of the sights will be filled with school parties on end of year trips.

Thanks! I wasn't thinking so much of the weather, as no one can predict that. I was wondering more about things to see & do, are locals "fed up" (sorry, no offense, just lack of better term slips my mind for the moment) with the tourists, short-tempered perhaps? When I traveled in May, it seemed things were fresh & new, friendly folks, gearing up for summer season, etc. Perhaps it's the same in September, but I've never been during September so can make no comparison. Perhaps things are starting to wind down....I just know that here in Maine, we love to see the tourists come, but we're quite ready for them to go when tourist season is over :o) (...again, no offense to anyone intended).

Thanks Bob! That's most helpful. I never gave that aspect a thought. Good to know!

Diane, I've traveled to Scotland to September at least a half dozen times and I think it's fantastic. The kids are back in school and things have calmed down. Most attractions are open. In fact, I can't recall running into a problem with anything being closed. Now, I've usually gone in the first three weeks of September, so it may slow down more the last week, but probably not. The university terms don't open until practically October if not October. One big advantage of September is that it is usually easier to book accommodations. This is particularly true if you're looking for a single.

Now, bear in mind that many of the festivals are in July and August, but if you look on line at the what's on calendars you can still find some! The music festival in Dunkeld is the last weekend in October for example. I'm trying very hard to think of negatives outside of weather, which as you point out is variable in the UK year round. I guess that the heather is starting to fade by the second week, but that's all I can come up with! ; ) Pam

Traveling in September is fine. The days aren't quite as long and you won't see the Spring flowers but days are still nice, the summer crowds and prices have started to dwindle.

September is the time for harvest so it's a good time to travel wine regions.

I agree with Pamela from Madison. September is a great time to visit the UK.

From what I've read in Britain magazine, there are lots of harvest festivals in the fall- Apples, etc. Cider is a local drink- not like the NC mt. cider- more of a hard drink.

Hi Diane,
Our last trip to UK (Glasgow to London) was from September 28 to October 15, 2006. We found it quite perfect for travel. The nights in Scotland were cooler than expected, but then there was a heat wave in London -- it was over 30 celcius in October! The benefits were fewer tourists, and certainly no university/college students, which depending on your age could be a benefit or a negative. We found the people to still be welcoming and not burnt out from the busy season. It was still light until about 7:00 (perfect timing to get dark if you take the odd "ghost tour"). The only thing that is slightly disappointing about this time of year is that the Gardens are past their peak of perfection, although the fall colour is beautiful.
I once visited the Cotswalds in December and still found it beautiful, but wouldn't do that again.

All in all I think you wouldn't be disappointed in a September trip.

Just an FYI - By September, dusk will start to set as early as 4:00 pm. I made sure to get all my outside pics early! By December it is getting dark just after 3.

Tami,
Your sunset times for September are a bit off.
Sunset in London for the 1st of September is 7.47pm, this then goes down to 6:40pm on the 30th of the month. Darkness will be about an hour after that, so a bit more light in the evenings. The clocks usually change the third weekend in October, which really makes the evenings draw in, then it will be reasonably dark by 5:00pm.

I didnt say the sun was setting at 4, I had said dusk would seem to start around then, dusk meaning not quite as bright as a day can be. Sun didnt set until 6 or so, thats right.
I know that I was there around then and it seemed to get darker earlier than in the US. Felt like 5 pm and it was 3:30. And wasnt cloudy even. So maybe its not so much that the sun is setting but it may be at a different angle enough for americans that we feel its later.