Погода: Бристоль, май

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.

Bristol forum discussions describe the southwest of England's winter as generally milder than much of the rest of the country, staying comparatively pleasant right up through the holidays, with one local poster noting that if a genuinely bitter cold snap is going to arrive, January or February tends to be when. Typical winter daily highs were cited around 10-13C, with Atlantic weather fronts bringing the standard pattern of rain and showers interspersed with real spells of bright winter sunshine. Posters mentioned the Harbourside area specifically as a pleasant spot for a stroll on the clear, sunny winter afternoons that do come through between the wetter stretches.

Bristol forum regulars describe January as damp and grey more than harsh — good old British drizzle is close to guaranteed at some point during a visit, with rain and showers interspersed with bright winter sunshine, and wind that usually comes off the south and west rather than a cold northerly. Some regional discussions cite daytime highs as mild as 10-13°C for the wider southwest England area, though that reads a touch generous for Bristol itself in a typical year. The practical upside regulars name: quieter roads and fewer tourists than any other season, since workers are working and shoppers all spent out after the holidays. Our record: 7.5°C days, 2.3°C nights, 11 rain days and 0.9cm of snow — cool and damp rather than mild, a bit below the warmer end some regional discussions suggest.

The UK forum's consistent line on early July: expect roughly 17°C on average with a real chance of rain, and treat any specific forecast as unreliable more than a few days out. Regulars across the south-west give the same standing advice for a trip to Bristol as anywhere else in Britain in summer — pack for both sun and rain, because a single day can bring either.