London sunrise and sunset times (51.51°N, 0.13°W)
At 51.5°N London is a high-latitude light city: midsummer sunrises before 05:00 and sunsets after 21:00, with a long, languid golden hour to match; in late June the sky never gets properly dark (astronomical twilight lasts all night). Midwinter flips it — sunrise after 08:00, sunset before 16:00, and a blue hour that stretches like toffee.
All times below include the correct GMT/BST offset for each date, using the hardcoded 2026–2027 transition dates in our engine. Bridge and river shooters: the Thames bends, so verify your sightline with the calculator plus a sun-position app on location.
How to read these tables
- Sunrise / sunset are the moments the sun’s upper edge crosses a sea-level horizon (includes standard refraction, exactly like official almanacs).
- Golden hour = sun centre between −4° and +6° elevation; blue hour = −6° to −4°. These bands are conventions, not physical constants — definitions vary.
- London observes BST: clocks go forward 01:00 GMT on the last Sunday of March (29 Mar 2026, 28 Mar 2027) and back 01:00 BST on the last Sunday of October (25 Oct 2026, 31 Oct 2027). Tables below apply the correct offset for each date.
Computed by our NOAA-formula engine; spot-validated against the official 2026 almanac tables of the Hong Kong Observatory and Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (engine-level validation) — Last verified: 2026-11-16.
Rest of 2026 — quick reference
| Date | Sunrise | Solar noon | Sunset | Golden hour PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 16, 2026 | 07:20 | 11:45 | 16:10 | 15:16–16:33 |
| Nov 30, 2026 | 07:42 | 11:49 | 15:56 | 14:57–16:20 |
| Dec 15, 2026 | 08:00 | 11:55 | 15:52 | 14:50–16:17 |
| Dec 31, 2026 | 08:06 | 12:03 | 16:01 | 15:00–16:26 |
2027 month-by-month: sunrise, solar noon, sunset
| Month | Day | Sunrise | Solar noon | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1 | 08:06 | 12:04 | 16:02 | 7h56m |
| 15 | 08:00 | 12:10 | 16:20 | 8h21m | |
| February | 1 | 07:39 | 12:14 | 16:50 | 9h10m |
| 15 | 07:15 | 12:15 | 17:15 | 10h00m | |
| March | 1 | 06:46 | 12:13 | 17:40 | 10h54m |
| 15 | 06:15 | 12:10 | 18:05 | 11h49m | |
| April | 1 | 06:37 | 13:05 | 19:33 | 12h57m |
| 15 | 06:06 | 13:01 | 19:57 | 13h51m | |
| May | 1 | 05:33 | 12:58 | 20:23 | 14h50m |
| 15 | 05:09 | 12:57 | 20:46 | 15h36m | |
| June | 1 | 04:49 | 12:58 | 21:08 | 16h19m |
| 15 | 04:43 | 13:01 | 21:19 | 16h37m | |
| July | 1 | 04:47 | 13:04 | 21:21 | 16h34m |
| 15 | 05:01 | 13:06 | 21:12 | 16h11m | |
| August | 1 | 05:24 | 13:07 | 20:49 | 15h25m |
| 15 | 05:46 | 13:05 | 20:24 | 14h38m | |
| September | 1 | 06:13 | 13:01 | 19:48 | 13h35m |
| 15 | 06:35 | 12:56 | 19:16 | 12h41m | |
| October | 1 | 07:01 | 12:50 | 18:39 | 11h38m |
| 15 | 07:24 | 12:46 | 18:08 | 10h44m | |
| November | 1 | 06:53 | 11:44 | 16:34 | 9h40m |
| 15 | 07:18 | 11:45 | 16:11 | 8h53m | |
| December | 1 | 07:43 | 11:49 | 15:55 | 8h12m |
| 15 | 07:59 | 11:55 | 15:51 | 7h52m |
2027 light windows: golden hour and blue hour
| Month | Blue hour AM | Golden hour AM | Civil dawn | Civil dusk | Golden hour PM | Blue hour PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 07:26–07:41 | 07:41–09:07 | 07:26–08:06 | 16:02–16:42 | 15:01–16:27 | 16:27–16:42 |
| February | 07:03–07:17 | 07:17–08:31 | 07:03–07:39 | 16:50–17:26 | 15:58–17:12 | 17:12–17:26 |
| March | 06:13–06:26 | 06:26–07:32 | 06:13–06:46 | 17:40–18:14 | 16:55–18:01 | 18:01–18:14 |
| April | 06:03–06:16 | 06:16–07:21 | 06:03–06:37 | 19:33–20:07 | 18:49–19:54 | 19:54–20:07 |
| May | 04:55–05:10 | 05:10–06:20 | 04:55–05:33 | 20:23–21:02 | 19:36–20:47 | 20:47–21:02 |
| June | 04:04–04:22 | 04:22–05:42 | 04:04–04:49 | 21:08–21:54 | 20:15–21:35 | 21:35–21:54 |
| July | 04:00–04:19 | 04:19–05:41 | 04:00–04:47 | 21:21–22:08 | 20:27–21:49 | 21:49–22:08 |
| August | 04:43–04:59 | 04:59–06:13 | 04:43–05:24 | 20:49–21:29 | 20:00–21:13 | 21:13–21:29 |
| September | 05:38–05:51 | 05:51–06:57 | 05:38–06:13 | 19:48–20:22 | 19:03–20:09 | 20:09–20:22 |
| October | 06:27–06:40 | 06:40–07:45 | 06:27–07:01 | 18:39–19:12 | 17:55–18:59 | 18:59–19:12 |
| November | 06:18–06:32 | 06:32–07:43 | 06:18–06:53 | 16:34–17:09 | 15:44–16:56 | 16:56–17:09 |
| December | 07:04–07:19 | 07:19–08:42 | 07:04–07:43 | 15:55–16:34 | 14:57–16:19 | 16:19–16:34 |
Extremes for London (2027)
- Earliest sunrise: June 12 (04:43)
- Latest sunrise: January 1 (08:06)
- Longest day: June 21 (16h39m)
- Shortest day: December 18 (7h50m)
Accuracy note
The engine behind this page was validated against two official national sources — the Hong Kong Observatory Almanac 2026 and Taiwan’s CWA 2026 Taipei table — with 43 published values checked, 36 matching to the minute and a worst deviation of 3 minutes. We do not reproduce official tables for London page-by-page; these values are computed. Always confirm against a local official source if minutes are critical.
London sun FAQ
What time is sunrise in London at the summer solstice?
On 21 June 2027 the sun rises at 04:43 and sets at 21:22 local time (UTC+0, summer offset applied), with solar noon at 13:02 and the sun reaching 61.9° above the horizon. Day length is 16h39m.
When are the earliest and latest sunrises in London?
Scanning all of 2027 with our engine: the earliest sunrise is June 12 (04:43) and the latest is January 1 (08:06). The longest day of the year is June 21 (16h39m) and the shortest is December 18 (7h50m).
How long is golden hour in London?
It depends on the season. Using the −4° to +6° elevation band, the evening golden hour lasts about 83 minutes around the June solstice and about 86 minutes around the December solstice — the shallower the sun's path, the longer the golden light. See golden hour explained for why.
A sturdy travel tripod
Golden and blue hour both mean shooting in low light. A solid tripod keeps frames sharp through the whole window — the one accessory every light planner ends up needing.
Check price →Keep planning
- Sun calculator — any date, any coordinates
- Equator vs high-latitude light — why London’s windows behave the way they do
- Planning a blue-hour cityscape shoot
- Singapore sun tables · New York sun tables