Month of Nicest Weather for Brit. Isles Cruise?

Is there a month or are there months that it is most advantageous to cruise the British Isles, weather-wise (both for on-board and on land)? I'd presume Jul-Sep, but here in SF we get some of our coldest weather in July...

Just thinking ahead to my bucket list/possible next cruise.

Thanks.

Sailing around the British Isles is always going to be a matter of luck when it comes to the weather.

When selecting your dates; it is also important to note that British school holidays are almost all between the 25th July to 1st September, within these dates higher prices generally occur.

The sunniest weather is usually mid June to mid August. It can be very hit and miss, so outside these dates can also be sunny but less likely to happen. Similarly you can get a rainy week within the dates. So look at other factors too; Bank Holidays: 13 July 15 N.I., 3 Aug 15 Scot/Ireland, 31 Aug 15 Eng/Wales/N.I. which can affect your plans (2015 dates will vary other years).

Longest Day (daylight/darkness) was 20 June 12 hrs and 16mins shortest day is 22 December 7hrs and 49min. The differential is accentuated the further you go north, so Scotland and Orkney Islands! The daylight period gradually decreases until the minimum is reached.

Regards John

I love July in Scotland because of the long hours of daylight as JW says. It is also often when we have the best weather but the weather can't be predicted in the UK. The school holidays here are in July to take advantage of both of these and I can never understand why English schools let children take advantage of holidays when the days are longest.

If you put your potential ports into http://www.wunderground.com you can check out the average temperature, rainfall etc each month and you can also check out what the weather was like on a specific date in previous years. I find it VERY useful when I'm working out what to pack! Remember there's probably going to be 600 miles between your most southerly and northerly port so you will as ever in the UK come prepared for four seasons in one day.

And, of course, this week (First week in July) we are basking in, or sheltering from 30 degree (98F) temperatures. Naturally this is likely to bring sudden thunderstorms.

Yesterday was the hottest July day on record.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-33324881

The London Underground was not nice yesterday...:(

FWIW, My parents did a round Britain cruise in a small ship (90 passengers) in May, and it was more or less flat calm for a fortnight. They only missed one port, Fair Isle, on a ship where shoregoing was by Zodiac.

Saying that, though, May isn't the month you'd choose to give yourself the best chance.

We were in London 4 yrs ago at this time and it was cold, windy & rainy for a couple of days even though there was a heat wave a couple weeks earlier. My wardrobe was inadequate.

This time I'm going with a broader range of clothing :cool: