United Kingdom in January

Short grey days, sales and cheap hotels; good for London museums and theatre, poor for the Highlands.

• London and the south-east · London, Oxford, Cambridge, Kent, Brightoncool

  Mildest and driest region; summer heat waves above 30 °C are now common, and older Tube lines and many homes have no air conditioning.

• South-west England · Bath, Bristol, Cornwall, Devonrainy

  Mild winters and the warmest sea; Cornish roads and beaches jam in the August school holidays.

• Northern England and Wales · York, Manchester, Lake District, Snowdonia (Eryri), Cardiffrainy

  Uplands catch the Atlantic rain; May–June and September are the clearest walking months.

• Scotland · Edinburgh, Glasgow, Highlands, Skyestorm or typhoon risk

  18+ hours of daylight in June; midges in the west from June to August; winter gales cancel ferries and close high roads.

Dates as our data lists them. Moving holidays (lunar and Islamic calendars, Easter) shift every year: check the date for your year before you build a trip on it.

• New Year

  1 Jan (+2 Jan in Scotland)

  Hogmanay in Edinburgh on 31 Dec needs tickets; reduced transport on 1 Jan.

Crowds · United Kingdom

Low

Prices · United Kingdom

Low

• Layers: a fleece or light jacket
• A rain jacket or umbrella and shoes that dry fast
• A spare day in the plan: storms can cancel flights and ferries

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Better another month

• Scotland

  18+ hours of daylight in June; midges in the west from June to August; winter gales cancel ferries and close high roads.