When do the Clocks Go Forward? Date clocks change and which direction

After a wet and grey end to winter through the early months of 2026, the sun has started to return. Warmer weather has also brought much-needed clearer skies to Leeds over the last couple of weeks.

Having made it through the dark days of January, the nights have started to get gradually lighter, but that will be turbo charged with the latest changing of the clocks. British Summer Time is officially set to begin later this month - with the date being confirmed.

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Leeds residents are being reminded that clocks will go forward on the final Sunday of the month. The date for this change will be March 29, so just over three weeks away.

It will be the start of BST and will mean that the clocks will go forward on that date. Unfortunately, that does mean you will get an hour less in bed - but the nights will get lighter.

The time will jump forward one hour at 1am on March 29, meaning that it will become 2am instead. If you are out in Leeds that weekend, don’t get caught out by the change in time.

The period when the clocks are 1 hour ahead is called British Summer Time (BST). There’s more daylight in the evenings and less in the mornings (sometimes called Daylight Saving Time).

When the clocks go back, the UK is on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Although, Leeds residents won’t have to worry about that specific change until October.

British Summer Time was first introduced with an act of government back in 1916, following a campaign by builder William Willett. His original idea was for the clocks to actually go forward 80 minutes, instead of an hour, with the change introduced in 20-minute weekly steps.

Unfortunately for William, he did not live to see BST introduced as he died in 1915, a year before the first changing of the clocks.