I have only been to London in July and November. Would someone tell me when the days began to shorten. I enjoyed both times there, but when we were there in the summer, it seems that we had so much more time to see so much more and the days were gloriously long. Thanks, Sharon

The days are at their longest at the summer solstice, i.e. around June 21. Thereafter they get shorter, hitting the equinox around September 21, and are at their shortest on the winter solstice around December 21. And then the process reverses as the earth starts to tilt the other way.

Thanks, but nevermind. I found a site that has all this information. sharon

Thanks Patrick. I didn't see your post when I reposted. I'm trying to squeeze an extra two hours a day out of this trip. It makes such a difference in our playtime. Sharon

The other factor to bear in mind is daylight saving between late March and late October. This means it's light until more or less 10pm at the summer solstice in London.

This works the same all over the world - although less noticeable at the equator and most noticeable the further north/south you go.

The longest day is June 21 and the shortest is December 31. March and September 21 are the times when the lengths average.

Also - amount of daylight time depends on if you are at the eastern (shortest) or western (longest) end of your particular time zone.

(The above is provided as a service for all those who somehow missed 7th grade science.)

Uh, what nytraveler said only applies to the Northern Hemisphere. June 21 (or thereabouts) is the shortest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.

Yes, the longest day is the 21st June - but the evenings do continue to be later after this date. It's due to the elliptical orbit of the earth, and is complemented by mornings getting later at a faster rate.

Here in Cornwall, it's still light at 10 pm [but you need to turn the light on to read the paper!]

Sharon,

Apart from day length varying according to time of year the rate at which it changes varies. The change from day today is slowest near the solstices and fastest near the equinoxes.

So day length will shorten slowly in July, faster in August, then much faster in September/October before slowing as the winter solstice nears.