Bath weather in May

Asked to choose between May and September, regulars pick May, and the reason they give is daylight - the days are an hour or two longer, and for anyone meaning to walk the city and the hills around it that is the clincher. Our row gives 15.6 hours. The flowers are out, the May Day festivals are on, and the local schools do not break up until the 1st of June, so the only busy patch in the month is the early-May bank holiday weekend. On weather they hedge in the usual British way - not too inclement, and outside the peak summer crowds - while our row is blunter: 17.3C days over 8.5C nights that feel like 6C, with 59.8mm across 10.2 days. The record: humidity 77 percent, 10.5 hours of sun, an 18.6 kph wind and AQI 41.

Regulars are direct this counts as predictably unpredictable, rain, wind and sun all realistic within the same day, snow in April rare but not unheard of, temperatures capable of climbing into the mid-20s Celsius on a good day despite typically running in the teens. Our row backs that cool, genuinely wet read, 13.7C over 5C nights feeling as low as 2C, with 49.2mm of rain across 9 days and a trace of very late snow, 0.2cm. Regulars are consistent a northerly or easterly wind can make an already cool day feel noticeably chillier, layers and a proper foldable waterproof coat the standard packing advice regardless of the forecast. Riverside walks to nearby villages remain a genuinely pleasant option even on a changeable day. The record: 9 hours of sun, humidity 77 percent and a 19.5 kph wind.

September is the month regulars steer visitors toward once the school holidays end - noticeably easier to get into the Roman Baths between 11 and 3 once the European exchange students have gone too - though they are honest that it does not mean dry. Our row gives 18.8C over 11.4C with 75.5mm across 10.5 days, and the board's standing advice, pack a waterproof and a brolly, matches that total. Their reassurance for a rained-out afternoon is architectural rather than meteorological: most of the baths themselves are covered or indoors, so the attraction stays a good rainy-day option regardless of what the sky is doing outside. The record: humidity 81 percent, 7.3 hours of sun, a 19.9 kph wind and AQI 38.

Bath in early and mid August, at a weekend, is one of the busiest places in Britain, and regulars are blunt that nice weather makes it worse rather than better. Their rule for the Roman Baths is that the queue depends entirely on when you turn up - eleven on a Saturday morning is long, four on a wet Tuesday is nothing - which makes a grey afternoon in our 58.7mm, 9.6-day August an asset rather than a loss. The tip worth carrying is seasonal: in July and August only, the Baths stay open until ten at night, and few visitors know it, so a late evening gets you the place almost to yourself. Days are mild at 21.4C over 13.3C. The record: humidity 78 percent, 9.1 hours of sun, 14.5 hours of daylight and AQI 32.

June is when Bath's festivals land - the Music Festival and the Fringe overlapping - which is a reason to come and a reason the streets are fuller. The queue for the Roman Baths gets long by mid-June, and the standing advice is to go early and give the rest of the day to a city small enough to walk. The cafes and restaurants feel it too. Our row gives June 16.5 hours of daylight and 10.3 hours of sun against 9.5 precipitation days carrying 55.3mm - an English June, in other words, where the long evening is the real gain. The record: 20.1C days that feel like 19C, 11.7C nights and a 19 kph wind.