May or September for Cruising Brittish Isles

Trying to determine the better choice regarding the weather if we do Celebrity around the Brittish Isles including Amsterdam, Bruges and Normandy in early June, or Princess Brittish Isles focusing on Ireland and Scotland departing Sept 10. Both visit Guernsey and Le Harvre. Cold, damp rainy or sunny and warm in either early June or mid-September. We will do 5 days land in London before sailing on either cruise. Please help me decide.

Toss a coin. Our weather is highly variable and you can have good or bad in both seasons.

Spring has bluebells, trees in flower and the optimism of a new season;

Autumn has golden leaves and "mellow fruitfulness".

I live in Scotland and would recommend going in May. Both will have similar weather but different May. May wont be as cold though.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Toss a coin. Our weather is highly variable and you can have good or bad in both seasons.

 

Spring has bluebells, trees in flower and the optimism of a new season;

 

 

 

Autumn has golden leaves and "mellow fruitfulness".

 

I've taken many a springtime walk in bluebell woods; and looking at the second photo, I'm ready to head off to Stourhead today! :)

For the OP: If it matters, keep in mind that there will be a bit more daylight in June than in September. As an example, consider these sunrise/sunset times for London on June 10 & September 10 this year:

June 10: sunrise 4:44 am, sunset 9:17 pm

Sept 10: sunrise 6:28 am, sunset 7:26 pm

-- per http://www.timeanddate.com/sun/uk/london

Obviously, the effects are more pronounced the farther north you go; in terms of hours of daylight, Scotland has even longer summer days and shorter winter days. (Although you can't really tell the difference when the clouds are thick and low. ;):D)

As a Brit, I would always say September, most years it is one of the best times to visit UK. I know the days are even shorter than May but its usually warmer, often settled and not really autumnal, this year there is no leaf colour changes now and often autumnal colours are a month on from now. Places are still open and the tourists thin on the ground except at weekends.

May is midge time in the north and Scotland which can restrict some outdoor activities.

This year Sept will break records with 33°[94°F] in much of the south for 2 days and better weather than May/June which were less pleasant for tourism.

I would say September. Although October is the most beautiful month in Scotland, course are beginning to change in September and there's heather etc on the hills. I also think the weather is generally better in September in this area

You will be in the north for most of the cruise --most ports are in Ireland / Northern Ireland / Scotland. I much prefer late spring / early summer in the UK for the lovely long days. I grew up in north Staffordshire and visit every few years. Weather is unpredictable whenever you go. We are doing the May 25 Princess cruise that includes the Orkneys.

This year September has been a far better month weather wise than May was.

That said, I'd choose May/June for delightfully long days.

But as pointed out by other posters, none of us can give you much in the way of prediction for the weather. That's how it is here :D

Knolmom

This is one you are going to have to decide for yourself I reside in a small village approx 14 miles northwest of Glasgow the port of Greenock is 15 miles away from us.

Our friends in the South/SouthEast of England have had a glorious sunny very warm September while we have had a very warm wet September.

The western side of the U.K. Is exposed to weather from the Atlantic and can therefore be unpredictable both May and September can be glorious but can often be wet, as they say on some game shows "The Choice Is Yours", have a great cruise.

September would me my choice too. Late Spring & early summer have been awful for the past few years whereas September is generally very nice. As an example, it's 23c (74F) down here in the south of England today.

September would me my choice too. Late Spring & early summer have been awful for the past few years whereas September is generally very nice. As an example, it's 23c (74F) down here in the south of England today.

And we had frost on the cars yesterday morning 😉

Both could be great and both could have poor weather And equally one day could be great and the next awful.

Out of choice I would go May/June but that a personal choice

Seems like a north/ south split with the south of England saying sept and the north-Scotland preferring may. No guarantees however for cast for tomorrow is interesting warm in the south , wet and wild in Scotland.

In September, Britain does not look ANYTHING like that autumnal photo posted previously. Here in Scotland, all of the trees are still green. The weather is just worse. Rain, mist, etc. Go in May.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

My parents did a round trip in May on a 90-passenger ship, and the seas were calm and the sun shone for all but one day of the fortnight. And by "calm", I mean that they were able to land via Zodiac boats in places where there was no harbour.

This year September has been a far better month weather wise than May was.

Depending on where you live- it was the opposite here in NW :(.

That said, I'd choose May/June for delightfully long days.

But as pointed out by other posters, none of us can give you much in the way of prediction for the weather. That's how it is here

Agreed

We live near Liverpool and I also vote for June, which I see your original question asks about (not May). The length of the day is well worth having and the days are clearer. There can be a lot of mist in the early autumn - particularly in the east of the country. The seas are also likely to be a calmer in June on average.

The autumn colours have been late coming here this year as well and most trees are still green even now, presumably because there has been a lot of rain, though October would have the main autumn colours - Sept tends to show yellow. The autumn colours can be spectacular, but that only really happens on a bright sunny day, which does not happen that often at that time of year.

Basically I would look at the itineraries and think of that though, as weather can be pretty much a gamble at any time over here. I agree the South East can be warm in September, but it tends to have turned colder and wetter here in most years.

In September, Britain does not look ANYTHING like that autumnal photo posted previously. Here in Scotland, all of the trees are still green. The weather is just worse. Rain, mist, etc. Go in May.

This is correct - the photo was taken in mid October. If past Septembers are anything to go by, the weather should be better than May/June. No guarantees though. I would choose September, but I live in Worcestershire and was out in the sunshine picking apples from my neighbour's trees this morning.

We live near Liverpool and I also vote for June, which I see your original question asks about (not May).

I think most posters picked up on May because OP mentions it in their thread title.

I did notice June was mentioned in the post itself so I replied on the basis that maybe the cruise OP's looking at starts in May and ends in June :D

I said earlier that May wasn't very good this year, especially compared to September. I was mistaken. In my area we had two glorious weeks in May. It was June that was disappointing.

I think most posters picked up on May because OP mentions it in their thread title.

I did notice June was mentioned in the post itself so I replied on the basis that maybe the cruise OP's looking at starts in May and ends in June :D

 

I said earlier that May wasn't very good this year, especially compared to September. I was mistaken. In my area we had two glorious weeks in May. It was June that was disappointing.

Save

I now see that both May and June are mentioned, but I would still have given the same answer for May (especially if talking about late May). The OP mentions a cruise departing on the 10th September, so that would be latish on in that month.

September is still not the choice I would take, although agreed weather can vary year to year and the South East (and even central, inland England) do tend to have later springs and better Septembers because there is an influence from the continent there.

Coastal areas to the west and north are much more likely to have a relatively early spring and an earlier autumn from a geolographical point of view, so the differences are not just the opinion of individuals living in different parts of the UK, but a genuine difference of weather patterns in different areas.

As I said previously the itinerary is much more worth taking into account rather than the month in question, due to variations year on year - though I would be wary of any required tender transfers, especially to the north or west of the UK after the end of August, as the storms that build up on the other side of the Atlantic do tend to end up as unsettled weather and seas as they approach the UK. Our weather systems normally come from the south west. That is just a geolographical fact.