Brighton Clocks Go Back: Sunset 4:48pm on Sunday

Clocks go back on Sunday 25 October: Brighton sunset drops to 4:48pm

The clocks go back an hour at 2am on Sunday 25 October. Brighton sunset moves from 5:50pm to 4:48pm. Met Office forecast, winter sunset times and where the sun sets.

Tim

Published 17:46, Saturday, 24 October 20263 min read

Collage of the sun setting behind the West Pier ruins, Brighton seafront at dusk with the Palace Pier lit up, and the West Pier at dusk (file photos)

The clocks go back one hour at 2am on Sunday 25 October 2026, according to GOV.UK. For Brighton that means an extra hour in bed and a much earlier sunset: 4:48pm on Sunday, compared with 5:50pm on Saturday, which is 62 minutes earlier, based on the timeanddate.com sun tables for Brighton.

Four key facts: clocks go back one hour at 2am on Sunday 25 October; Brighton sunset is 4:48pm on Sunday, 62 minutes earlier than Saturday; the earliest sunset of the winter is 3:54pm from 9 to 15 December; clocks go forward again on 28 March 2027 — Key facts as the clocks go back (Sources: GOV.UK, timeanddate.com)

From Sunday, the sun sets before 5pm in Brighton on every day for the next 104 days. It does not reach 5pm again until Saturday 6 February 2027.

What changes on Sunday

The clocks. The UK moves back to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) at 2am. Phones and computers usually update by themselves, but check any clock you set by hand.

The light. Sunrise in Brighton moves from 7:38am on Saturday to 6:40am on Sunday, and sunset from 5:50pm to 4:48pm. Mornings are lighter and the evenings are much shorter.

The weather. Saturday has a yellow rain warning for Brighton and Hove until 11pm, which we covered in Brighton Yellow Rain Warning Today, 11am to 11pm. The Met Office forecast for Brighton, checked on Saturday 24 October, has Sunday mostly dry, apart from some rain in the first hour or two after midnight. It shows a high of 14°C and a low of 10°C, with gusts of around 40mph overnight, peaking near 45mph at midday and easing to about 30mph by 8pm.

How fast the evenings get darker

Sunset keeps getting earlier through November and into December. The earliest sunset in Brighton is 3:54pm, from 9 to 15 December. The shortest day is Monday 21 December, with sunrise at 8:00am and sunset at 3:56pm, just under eight hours of daylight. After that the evenings slowly stretch again.

Line chart of sunset time in Brighton from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, falling from about 6:40pm in early October to a low of 3:54pm in mid December, with a drop on 25 October when the clocks go back and a jump on 28 March 2027 when they go forward — Sunset time in Brighton, with the two clock changes (Source: timeanddate.com)

Key dates for dark evenings

The same sun tables give sunset times for the big dates ahead. On Halloween the sun sets at 4:37pm, so it is dark early for anyone heading out. Lewes Bonfire is on Thursday 5 November, when sunset is 4:28pm. Burning the Clocks returns on the shortest day, Monday 21 December. Dates and details for those and more are in our Brighton Events November and December 2026: Lewes Bonfire, VegfestUK, Story Trail, Burning the Clocks.

Key dates: Saturday 24 October sunset 5:50pm; Sunday 25 October clocks go back at 2am, sunset 4:48pm; Saturday 31 October Halloween, sunset 4:37pm; Thursday 5 November Lewes Bonfire night, sunset 4:28pm; Monday 21 December shortest day and Burning the Clocks, sunset 3:56pm; Sunday 28 March 2027 clocks go forward, sunset 7:26pm — Key dates and Brighton sunset times (Sources: GOV.UK, timeanddate.com)

The clocks go forward again on Sunday 28 March 2027, according to GOV.UK, and Brighton sunset jumps from 6:24pm on the Saturday to 7:26pm on the Sunday. The following clock change back is on Sunday 31 October 2027.

Where the sun sets

The sea is to the south of Brighton, and the sun sets to the west and south west, low over the water along the coast. From the Palace Pier the sun sets on a bearing of about 251 degrees on Sunday 25 October, west-south-west. By the shortest day it sets on a bearing of about 232 degrees, further round towards the south west. The bearings are from timeanddate.com.

Map of Brighton and Hove seafront from the Palace Pier showing the direction of sunset on Sunday 25 October, at a bearing of 251 degrees, and on 21 December, at a bearing of 232 degrees, both pointing out to sea to the west and south west, with the West Pier ruins marked — Direction of sunset from the Palace Pier, shown approximately (Map: OpenStreetMap contributors)

Staying visible in the dark

Brighton & Hove City Council road safety officers will be giving out free bike lights, reflective stickers and hi-vis rucksack covers at five spots from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October, from about 4:45pm to 6:30pm. Sunset is at 4:46pm on Monday, so the first session starts as the light goes. The locations are in Free Bike Lights in Brighton and Hove: Where Council Officers Will Be 26 to 30 October.

The Highway Code says that after dark a bike must show a white light at the front and a red light at the back, and have a red rear reflector. It also advises wearing reflective clothing at night.