SUMMARIES: 1960 - 1989

A word of caution re: the 'warmest' and 'sunniest' data (where given).

1. I have used the generally published figures from various Daily or Monthly Weather Summaries, and other sources. This means that sometimes, values are used that are later questioned: in particular, some stations have been found to be non-representative when careful later checks are made. I have used some of the 'roof-top' sites, (e.g. London, Cardiff), but remember that these are generally regarded as poor when set alongside the more 'standard' ground-level settings. Also note that these data (where known / given) are simply the locations we know of! They are not meant to be exhaustive: just giving the broad idea of where the warmest (or sunniest) spots were, and with what value. In some cases, I do not know the exact value, so the value to the nearest degC (temperature) or h (hours of sunshine) is listed.

2. Sunshine can be mis-reported for all sorts of reasons, and it is not unknown for coastal resorts to 'massage' the figures! Note that sometimes, sunshine from the previous day can be carried forward to the current one: this is a result of some reporting stations being required to return sunshine totals for the 24hr up to 6pm local time - therefore the previous evening's sunshine may well intrude. However, I have quoted all figures below without editing as long as they look reasonable. Note also that in the 'sunniest' sections, throughout I have ONLY used stations from England, Wales and Northern Ireland (and also the Channel Islands if applicable). If stations in Scotland have had markedly better sunshine figures than elsewhere, then I will make mention in the text.

1960: (29th July - 1st August)
TURNING COOLER: WINDY START IN NORTH. SHOWERS FOR MOST.

With low pressure drifting eastwards from well west of the Hebrides on Friday, to be over northern Britain as a filling feature on the Monday, this weekend could best be described as "showery"! Quite breezy across northern areas for the first couple of days, but this eased, and by the Holiday Monday (a holiday across the entire UK), the showers were locally heavy, with thunder - but also with a good deal of sunshine about. On Saturday, with a shallow low crossing northern France, some southern areas were cloudier, but also warmer than elsewhere. Temperatures below average in the always showery north and west, and around or somewhat above at first in the southeast; however, by Monday, all areas had generally below (or at best near) average afternoon values.
[ July 1960 began a sequence of five exceptionally wet months across England and Wales, but in Scotland, the weather remained generally dry. Notably wet across Northern Ireland. The cool, unusually wet weather of July continued throughout August 1960. Brighton recorded more than twice its average rainfall for the whole month on just three days (9th - 11th). Another notably wet month for Northern Ireland. ]

1961: (4th - 7th August)
WET/WINDY START, THEN BRIGHTER/SHOWERY: SUNNIER/DRIER MONDAY.

A windy Friday, with areas of rain for most places, some heavy. With time, cooler air dug down from the northwest, with the rain turning showery here. Still rather unsettled on Saturday - cloudy, cool & showery (with lengthier spells of rain) for far northern areas; rather mixed in central districts and a lot of cloud with occasional rain in the south - though this clearing. Quite warm in the south, but also humid. On Sunday and Monday, a 'settling-down' phase: plenty of showers on Sunday, especially in the north and west, as remaining rain cleared the southeast. Some sunshine too, better as you came across the central and southeastern lowlands of England. By Monday, a transitory ridge of high pressure moved east, with showers dying out. However, by afternoon, thickening cloud followed the ridge into western areas, with rain here later - a wet 24hr for the Isles of Scilly & parts of Cornwall began on this day: more than 50mm of rain fell at St. Mary's [Isles of Scilly]. Temperatures near or above average at first (warm in the south), but becoming below average for many, with easterly winds keeping east coasts cool on Monday.
[ The first couple of weeks of August 1961 were often wet and windy, with flooding reported in places: severe gales affected some areas on the Tuesday/8th. ]

1962: (3rd - 6th August)
COOL/UNSETTLED NORTH; SHOWERY/BRIGHTER SOUTH.

Always unsettled in northern areas, with large areas of cloud, lower temperatures, and on Sunday, strong locally gale-force winds. Less windy across southern areas, with the wind easing well by Monday. Showers or rain for most - extended wet periods in the north, but lengthier drier gaps in the south, with a lot of fair, sunny weather across southern areas on Monday, though temperatures nothing spectacular.
[ This holiday came at the start of what was to be a cool, wet August: Average day maxima were some 1 to 2 degrees C below average in many areas, and coupled with the often heavy rain, and average or lower than average sunshine, it was a most disappointing summer month. ]

1963: (2nd - 5th August)
THUNDERY RAIN: WARM/SUNNY IN SOUTH ON MONDAY.

From the 2nd to the 4th (the holiday Sunday), the weather was generally dull with shallow depressions off southern England giving outbreaks of rain and scattered thunderstorms; rain was heavy at times on the Saturday with falls of more than 25mm in many southern counties. Bank Holiday Monday, 5th, saw an improvement in the south - some south coast resorts had more than 10 hours of bright sunshine - but as a depression moved northwards in the North Sea, there was prolonged and heavy rain in many northern districts with falls exceeding 50mm in parts of northern England. Temperatures overall generally above average; warm locally in the sunnier south on Monday.
[ A cold August, with values some 1 or 1.5 degC below the long-term average. ]

1964: (31st July - 3rd August)
FINE/WARM WEATHER AFTER DRIZZLE BAND MOVED SOUTHEAST. SUNNY MONDAY.

A ridge of high pressure extended over the British Isles from the south-west during the first four days of the month. Northwesterly winds were fresh on the 1st (Saturday)(putting an 'edge' to the temperatures) but moderated on the 2nd as a belt of drizzle spread over the country from the west. Many places had fine, warm days over this holiday, especially on the 3rd (Monday) when 10 hours of sunshine was fairly general and Southampton had its warmest August Bank Holiday since 1938.
[ This was the last time the Bank Holiday was held on the first weekend of the month over the entire the United Kingdom. ]

[ From 1965, the Late Summer Holiday moved to the end of August for England, Wales & Northern Ireland, but in 1968 & 1969, the Holiday Monday occurred in September ( 2nd & 1st respectively). ]

1965: (27th - 30th August)
BREEZY. SOME SUNSHINE. BEST IN WEST OF ENGLAND. RAIN AMOUNTS SMALL.

A ridge of high pressure, with lengthy sunny intervals, gave way during the course of Friday to a westerly type for the rest of the holiday weekend. Rain crossed most areas late on Friday and throughout Saturday, although amounts were not particularly great. This was followed by blustery, coolish west or northwest winds and some showers. However, Sunday and Monday in the southeast and some sheltered eastern areas elsewhere were not too bad, with further periods of sunshine, albeit with the rather nagging westerly breeze.
(NB: if the Bank Holiday had still been at the start of the month (as it still was in Scotland), it would have been awful, with heavy rain/flooding on the Monday in the south after more than an inch (about 25mm) of rain!)

1966: (26th - 29th August)
DRY, BUT STRONG EAST WIND: VIOLENT THUNDERY BREAKDOWN - HEAVY RAIN.

A lot of dry weather on the first three days, with sunshine, but spoilt by the nagging southeast or easterly winds on the southern flank of a strong anticyclone centred in the southern Norwegian Sea. As a result of the wind, and sometimes cloudy skies, temperatures were held back to 'near-average' values (with a strong 'wind-chill', particularly in the east), but some sheltered western areas fared well. The weather started breaking down on 28th (Sunday) in the southwest as a depression edged northeastward, and by Monday, in addition to strong/gusty winds, there were outbreaks of heavy/thundery rain in many places. Violent thunderstorms occurred on the Monday, with reports of around 50mm of rain from some of the storms in the south. The storms did considerable damage; many main roads were flooded, in places to a depth of 30 cm or more causing chaos to holiday traffic.

1967: (25th - 28th August)
A LOT OF FINE, DRY & WARM WEATHER. CLOUDIER IN NORTHWEST.

High pressure brought fine, dry & warm weather on Friday and much of Saturday, but a front crossing Northern Ireland on Saturday produced cloudier skies across the north and some far western areas; the south and east remained fine and dry and reasonably warm, as pressure stayed relatively high to the south or southeast.

1968: (30th August - 2nd September)
A MIXED WEEKEND: SHOWERY / COOL NW; OCCASIONAL RAIN, BUT WARMER IN SE.

Cool & showery across many northern & western areas, with brisk W or SW wind at times, especially Friday & Saturday. Showery, cool in far SE England / East Anglia on Friday & for a time Saturday - the showers dying out with cloud breaking - some sunshine. Period of rain (locally heavy) affecting SE Britain late Sunday & for a time Monday - but perking up again with sunshine elsewhere becoming widespread on Holiday Monday. Temperatures below average in many northern & western districts (and a keen / chilly northerly wind East Anglia / SE England on Friday), but average to above-average eventually in SE Britain, and some sheltered eastern areas further north.

1969: (29th August - 1st September)
MAINLY DRY/FINE WITH PLENTY OF SUNSHINE. CHILLIER/CLOUDIER PARTS OF SE.

With a ridge crossing the country slowly from the northwest, there was a lot of dry, sunny weather this weekend, but in the southeast, with winds generally from a northerly point, there were large areas of cloud at times, especially on Monday, with a little drizzle here. Temperature at least average for most, and above average many southwestern areas - with south coastal resorts faring very well given the northerly breeze & abundant sunshine.

1970: (28th - 31st August)
SOME FINE WEATHER, BUT RAIN & STRONG WINDS FOR MANY BY MONDAY.

From the 25th, until the holiday Saturday, the weather was mostly dry with sunny periods although east coastal areas had irregular low cloud & depressed temperatures. On the 30th (Sunday), rain/drizzle affected Northern Ireland and northwest Scotland, but most other areas were dry, and to leeward of the Pennines and the Welsh Mountains, it was pleasantly warm (if rather gusty). At Tynemouth [NE England] on the Sunday, the day maximum temperature was 23.4 degC. There was some drizzly-rain into northwest England later in the day though. Cloud/rain spread eastwards Sunday evening/Monday morning affecting much of England and Wales during Bank Holiday Monday. Showers followed into western and northern areas on blustery, locally (in the northwest) strong west winds. However, over eastern and many southern counties of England, once the cold front bringing the rain had cleared around the middle of the day, the sun came out, and Gorleston, Norfolk had a maximum of 23.0degC on the Monday. Indeed, overall the London & Home Counties area had quite a reasonable weekend, with daytime temperatures between 22 and 25degC, and extended periods of strong sunshine on all days: up to 12h on Saturday & Sunday.

1971: (27th - 30th August)
UNSETTLED/WESTERLY - OFTEN WINDY. WARM START, THEN COOLER. RAIN FOR MOST.
Warmest = 24 degC (Gorleston [Norfolk] & Cardington [Bedfordshire]/28th)
Sunniest = 12.0h (Elmdon [Birmingham]/27th)

Friday was mostly dry but occasional rain and drizzle moved eastwards across the UK on the Saturday on blustery, sometimes strong westerly winds. However, east and southeast England had a lot of fine, warm weather on Saturday (warmest day of the weekend for many), before the cloud and patchy drizzle arrived. It remained fairly windy on Sunday and Monday, and there were showers, or periods of rain for most places with isolated thunderstorms.

1972: (25th - 28th August)
DRY BUT DISAPPOINTINGLY DULL. COOL IN NORTH & ON EAST COAST. CHILLY EAST WIND.
Warmest = 26degC (London [Central]/25th)
Sunniest = 12.7h (Mount Batten [Plymouth]/25th)

As a dominant high cell migrated eastwards to become slow-moving over the North Sea, the winds favoured an easterly point for much of the holiday, with consequent coolish winds - often strong and gusty on the south side of the high. The best of the weather was on Friday (mostly dry/bright or sunny), and notably warm in central, southern and some western areas. However, onshore breezes, particularly along the North Sea coast, maintained 'goose-pimply' weather here. The 26th and 27th (Saturday & Sunday) were dry though rather cloudy for most and also rather cool generally; however, in some western areas, sunshine could still be found, with 11h on the Isles of Scilly (Harold Wilson's holiday haunt) on Saturday. Monday for most was also a disappointing day, although areas well sheltered to the east wind (e.g. West of England/West Wales/Lancashire coast etc.) again had local pleasant sunshine. Indeed, not a bad holiday overall in the West Country, but for places like London, after a fine Friday, the total sunshine for Saturday to Monday inclusive was just 3h! (The sunshine did return of course .. after the holiday was over!)

1973: (24th - 27th August)
WARM/SUNNY UNTIL SUNDAY, THEN COOLER/DAMP FROM WEST. THUNDERY RAIN IN SOUTHEAST MONDAY.
Warmest = 26degC (Boscombe Down [Wiltshire]/24th & Heathrow [West London]/24th & 25th)
Sunniest = 12.6h (Thorney Island [Chichester Harbour]/25th)

An anticyclone developed over the North Sea on the 21st, and high pressure and warm southerly winds dominated the weather across southern and central areas until Sunday 26th: temperatures for many (especially away from coasts with onshore winds), were well into the mid-20's degC, with London up to 26degC on both Friday and Saturday, and Manchester 23degC on Saturday. However, occasional rain / drizzle affected some northern areas from the 23rd to the 26th. On the Holiday Monday, a frontal trough crossed the country, and occasional rain in the north and west spread to all other areas, with thunderstorms developing over southeast England late on the Monday afternoon. Kew (West London) had 17mm of rain in the 24hr from 0900GMT on the 27th, and Cardington had 21mm in the same period.

1974: (23rd - 26th August)
CYCLONIC: SHOWERY RAIN FOR MANY, BUT DRY/FINE LOCALLY IN SE. BLUSTERY WINDS.
Warmest = 24degC (Heathrow [West London] & /Finningley [South Yorkshire]/24th, also Manston [Kent] & Honington [Suffolk]/25th)
Sunniest = 12.3h (St.Mawgan [nr. Newquay, Cornwall] & St.Mary's [Isles of Scilly]/26th)

Fronts affecting the north and west on Friday moved to the southeast through the day, followed into the northwest by showery rain. Near average temperatures. Frontal cloud affected many areas on Saturday, although most of the rain fell in the northwest .. there was little rain and it stayed reasonably warm in the southeast: temperatures by the afternoon widely 23 or 24degC here. Blustery southwest winds on Sunday accompanied a cold front which affected the north and west: there was locally heavy rain here. On Monday, a cool northwesterly type with showers for many, with thunder/hail in places. However, towards the south, particularly in the southwest, there there were few showers and plenty of sunshine. This was one of those holiday weekends where the records say "not very good", but locally some places had not a bad few days.

1975: (22nd - 25th August)
MOSTLY SETTLED & ANTICYCLONIC: AVERAGE TEMPERATURES, BUT WARM IN SOUTHEAST.
Warmest = 24degC (Kew & Heathrow [West London], Cardington [Bedfordshire] and Finningley [South Yorkshire]/25th)
Sunniest = 12.9h (Manston [Kent]/25th)

During the second half of the month, the weather was variable and cooler (after a notably hot & thundery first half - this was the month of the " Hampstead storm"). A generally westerly type prevailed, and between the 16th and the 24th (Sunday), most places had some rain and changeable weather continued in the north until the end of the month. However, central and southern England and much of Wales became often fine and warm between the 24th and 29th (which period includes the latter part of this holiday), with temperatures into the low-to-mid 20's degC and extended periods of sunshine.
[ One of the 5 or 6 warmest Augusts in the Central England Temperature record - the series began in 1659. ]

1976: (27th - 30th August)
THUNDERY BREAKDOWN TO A GREAT DROUGHT. WELCOME DOWNPOURS FOR MANY.
Warmest = 26degC (Mount Batten [Plymouth]/27th)
Sunniest = 12.5h (Valley [Anglesey]/27th)

A centre of high pressure maintained fine, bright weather on Friday across southern areas - a continuation for one more day of fine August weather: this retreated westwards to the central Atlantic and allowed showery weather to spread south-westwards on the 27th (Friday) and 28th (Saturday) with thunderstorms and heavy rain in places. This ended a very long spell of dry weather which, in some areas, had lasted for six weeks. (The end of the 'great' 1976 drought). Many stations had their wettest day of the month (not hard to do), within the period 28th-30th. Boscombe Down had 56 mm, Rhoose 36 mm and Elmdon 27 mm of rain in the 24 hr up to 0900GMT on the 29th (Sunday). NB: Wittering [Cambridgeshire] in the period 30/0600GMT to 30/1800GMT had 60mm (in 12h), and a further 9mm 30/1800GMT to 31/0600GMT.

1977: (26th - 29th August)
UNSETTLED; THUNDERY RAIN IN SE. BECOMING FINE, LOCALLY WARM.
Warmest = 22degC (Honington [Suffolk] & Cardington [Bedfordshire] /29th)
Sunniest = 12.8h (Hurn [Bournemouth]/28th)

By the 26th (Friday), a depression that had brought strong winds and rain across the country had moved to southern Norway, but rain or showers continued to affect much of Britain while a further disturbance, moving close to south-east England on the 27th (Saturday), produced thunderstorms there. Across northern areas, Saturday was a particularly disappointing day, with afternoon maxima only 15 or 16degC in the Belfast and Manchester regions, accompanied by a brisk northeast wind. Further south, the thunderstorms gave rise to local torrential downpours: at Bromley and Orpington in Kent, 76 mm fell in four or five hours. A transient ridge of high pressure brought fine, drier weather for the rest of the Bank Holiday weekend (28th and 29th). Several stations had their sunniest day of the month on the Sunday/28th. Further rain soon spread from the west afterwards as further Atlantic troughs crossed the country; however, Bank Holiday Monday was notably fine in the SE of England, with London reaching 21degC in 13h of bright sunshine on this day. NB: In the London Weather Centre / Kingsway (composite record), this was at the time, the sunniest August Bank Holiday weekend (27th-29th) in that set [starts 1940], but note that the holiday weekend was at the start of August until 1965.

1978: (25th - 28th August)
DRY/ANTICYCLONIC; INDIFFERENT TEMPERATURES - COOL IN OFTEN CLOUDY NORTH & EAST.
Warmest = 22degC (Mount Batten [Plymouth]/27th)
Sunniest = 13.4h (Aldergrove [Belfast]/26th)

An anticyclone brought dry weather to much of the UK between the 23rd and 28th (including the holiday weekend). The centre of the high, however, remained to the west of Ireland and consequently cloud amounts over the country were often large, particularly in the north and east (and therefore day-time maxima were on the 'cool' side of average), while temperatures were no better than 'normal' elsewhere with the wind mostly from a northerly point. Of particular note are the figures from Belfast: after sunshine totals for Friday and Saturday of 11 and 13hr respectively (with other northern areas having prolonged, fine sunshine on this day), sunshine was virtually absent on Sunday and Monday, although it did remain dry. Day maxima drifted from 19degC on Saturday, to just 16degC on both Sunday and Monday. Manchester fared little better, with a day maximum of just 15degC and no sunshine on Monday - not very exciting weather for the Lancashire coastal resorts! With a north or northwesterly flow, southern, and particularly southwestern areas fared much better, with temperatures just into the low 20's degC in southern coastal resorts, and with areas of fine, strong sunshine: for example, St. Mary's [Isles of Scilly], was the sunniest place for two days running on Sunday and Monday, with near-unbroken sunshine on both days.

1979: (24th - 27th August)
UNRELIABLE/COOLISH: WET IN SOUTH ON SATURDAY. SOME COLD NIGHTS.
Warmest = 20degC (St.Mary's [Isles of Scilly]/27th)
Sunniest = 13.1h (Valley [Anglesey]/27th)

After a windy mid-month, the weather became somewhat quieter with cooler conditions and showers as a depression near north Scotland moved slowly south-east. Another depression crossed south-west England on the 25th (Saturday) bringing a wet day to the south, but pressure then rose from the north giving quieter, sunnier weather; however, the nights were cold with ground frost at several places in the UK and a screen minima of -1 degC at Cenarth Hill (Powys) early on the 28th (Monday night/Tuesday morning). Valley [Anglesey] had its sunniest day of the month on the Monday, which for most was not a bad holiday .. mainly dry/sunny despite a chilly wind in the east and north, but for most, the best weather came after the holiday weekend. However, the sunshine figures show that for many northwestern coastal areas, it was quite fine, albeit with less-than-sparkling temperatures.

1980: (22nd - 25th August)
ANTICYCLONIC, OFTEN CHILLY. GROUND FROST IN PLACES. LESS CHILLY BY MONDAY.
Warmest = 21degC (Kew & Heathrow [West London], Watnall [Nottingham] & Leeming [North Yorkshire]/25th)
Sunniest = 13.0h (Valley [Anglesey]/24th)

Cooler weather extended south on the 21st behind a weak cold front but it stayed mostly dry in the south: showers affected the north. Some of the nights were particularly cold with ground frost in places, especially in the north on the 25th (Monday), but this reflected the fact that the days were often quite sunny - for example, both Manchester and London had 7 or more hours of bright sunshine per day over the holiday weekend, and some coastal areas experienced 11 or more hours on at least 3 of the 4 days. An anticyclone advanced south-east from the Atlantic across southern England by the 24th (Sunday) and day-time temperatures began to rise again inland.

1981: (28th - 31st August)
MAINLY DRY/ANTICYCLONIC, BECOMING COOLISH. THUNDERY OUTBREAKS IN SW.
Warmest = 27degC (several [southern England]/28th)
Sunniest = 13h (Isle of Man & parts Northern Ireland/31st)

There were maxima near 27 degC at several places between the 26th and the 28th (Friday)(i.e. in the run-up to the holiday weekend), while at London Weather Centre 29 degC was recorded on the 27th (Thursday). By the 30th (Sunday), the centre of the anticyclone had transferred to the north of Scotland and with the wind direction becoming north-easterly it became cooler and cloudier in many places although it remained mostly dry. However, the 'cooler' was relative; for example, even on Monday, temperatures well into the low 20's degC were being recorded in many sheltered western areas of Britain, and even in London, where it was now overcast, the day-maximum was 21 degC. As noted, virtually dry everywhere, but in the south-west, there were thundery outbreaks which had moved northwards from France.

1982: (27th - 30th August)
UNRELIABLE/MAINLY CYCLONIC: NEAR-AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. COOL, SHOWERY ON MONDAY.
Warmest = 23degC (several [eastern England]/29th)
Sunniest = 13.5h (Falmouth [Cornwall]/28th)

Rising pressure from the 26th (Thursday) as a low moved away. An anticyclone moved east to the south of England on the 28th and 29th (Saturday & Sunday). There were good sunny periods in most places and there was ground frost at night in some northern districts but wind and rain returned to the north on the 29th as a depression moved north-east to the west of Scotland and cool, showery weather extended to all areas on the 30th (Holiday Monday). Maximum temperatures on this day were really struggling, for some only 12 or 13 degC, for example Belfast just 13degC with a brisk northwest wind. Down on the southeast English coast though, as often with winds from a northwesterly point, some resorts did reasonably well, with 10h of sunshine at Bournemouth (amongst others), and temperatures for many from Kent in the east to the central Channel in the west nudging 21degC.

1983: (26th - 29th August)
ANTICYCLONIC, SETTLED & REASONABLY WARM: OFTEN CLOUDY.
Warmest = 27degC (Liphook [Hampshire]/26th)
Sunniest = 12.8h (Hemsby [Norfolk]/26th)
[ I've included the Liphook reading above, but there is doubt about how representative and/or accurate the data from this station were. However, this day's maximum did tie in with others in the region. ]
During the holiday weekend, an axis of high pressure gradually moved south maintaining warm weather although a weak cold front affected the north-west on the 27th and 28th (Saturday & Sunday). Sunshine amounts were rather variable: some did very well, for example, East Anglia and the southeast of England on Friday and Saturdaymanaged over 10h of bright sunshine, whilst for Sunday and Monday, the emphasis transferred to the West Country, where again, places like Teignmouth and Ilfracombe (South & North Devon respectively) were very pleasant. Temperatures in southern areas were also comfortably into the low to mid 20's degC. Further north, sunshine not quite so plentiful, but with near-dry conditions and temperatures at least to 'average' values, the overall holiday period wasn't too bad.

1984: (24th - 27th August)
CYCLONIC (LOCALLY THUNDERY) START, BECOMING ANTICYCLONIC/WARM. STRONG COASTAL SUNSHINE.
Warmest = 26.7degC (Aviemore [Strathspey]/26th)
Sunniest = 13.0h (Lerwick [Shetland]/25th)

Brighter weather began to return (after a cloudy/thundery spell earlier in the week), to the south on the 25th (Saturday) and 26th (Sunday). In the south, the weather became warm and humid with variable cloud and some sunshine. Temperatures reached 26.5degC at Heathrow [West London] on Monday, with only 5h of sunshine. The warmth was also experienced further north, with Manchester [Ringway] having maxima on all four days of 23degC or higher, with 26degC on Saturday. Even in Belfast, the maximum temperatures were several degrees above the long-term average, though as further south, the sunshine was rather 'hit-and-miss'. Coastal regions though did very well as regards sunshine, and to warm the hearts of east coast landladies, even Skegness came up with plenty of sun: over 12h on Sunday.

1985: (23rd - 26th August)
UNSETTLED, CYCLONIC & COOL. MAINLY DRY BY MONDAY BUT RATHER CLOUDY.
Warmest = 20.6degC (Guernsey [Channel Islands]/23rd)
Sunniest = 12.2h (Jersey [Channel Islands]/26th)

On the 23rd (Friday) an Atlantic depression moved north-east towards Scotland spreading more rain into western areas which extended to eastern districts later. The weather then began to improve slightly, though with a "cloudy-ridge" scenario, as a weak ridge moved east across the country on the 26th (Monday) .. the improving temperatures etc., though occurring after the Bank Holiday weekend. During the holiday, afternoon maxima were never better than 'average', and it felt rather cool across many northern and exposed western regions.

1986: (22nd - 25th August)
UNSETTLED/CYCLONIC/COOL: A NOTABLY 'BAD' HOLIDAY ('CHARLEY' STRIKES!)
Warmest = 21.3degC (Clacton [Essex]/22nd)
Sunniest = 13.8h (Tiree [Inner Hebrides]/22nd)

An Atlantic depression brought rain to the southwest on the 21st which soon spread to many other areas. The low moved across southern England, filling on the 22nd (Friday) and 23rd (Saturday), and the 24th (Sunday) was a brighter day but with cool northerly winds. On the 25th (Monday), a deep, vigorous depression (ex-tropical depression 'Charley'**) moved into south-west Britain, bringing rain and gales to most parts of the country. The rain was heavy & lasted much of the daylight period in many places, especially in the southwest, Wales, Northern Ireland and northern England and there was widespread flooding as a result; rain falls of 25 mm or more were widespread (but not Scotland - see later). Lowtown [Co. Antrim/Northern Ireland] recorded 96.1mm of rain and Aber [Gwynedd, North Wales] 134.9 mm, though this is a notably wet location. on the 25th and for many places, the Holiday Monday was the wettest day of the month. As well as the rain, it was a miserably cold day across Northern Ireland, with the highest temperature in Belfast just 12degC. (The inaugural Birmingham 'super-Prix', although started, had to be abandoned with many laps to go- in fact, it turned out to be the 'first and last' such event!). In the Republic of Ireland, this event was regarded as a 'national disaster', with exceptionally large amounts of rain falling in the south and east of the island. However, Scotland was mainly dry, if rather cool on the Monday (though remember, NOT a Public Holiday here).
[ This was regarded at the time as the 'wettest August Bank Holiday on record' over England & Wales for the 20th century. Indeed, the entire month of August was very disappointing: it was the coldest August since 1956 using the 'central England' series, and that August was one of the coldest since the series began in 1659.
** 'Charley' can be traced back to a tropical storm which appeared off the coast of the Carolinas on the 15th August, 1986. On the 24th, whilst it was still some 500 km south-west of Ireland, it began to deepen rapidly. Over the next 24 hr, it tracked along the south coast and into the Irish Sea, where it produced GUSTS in excess of 55 knots. ]
1987: (28th - 31st August)
ANTICYCLONIC/RATHER CLOUDY: MANY PLACES DRY/WARM MONDAY.
Warmest = 25.8degC (Great Malvern [Worcestershire]/28th)
Sunniest = 13.0h (Torquay [Devon] & Guernsey [Channel Islands]/28th; also Jersey [Channel Islands]/29th)

Large amounts of cloud plagued an anticyclone, as weak frontal systems straddled the country in it's circulation. However, by the holiday Monday, the high thinned and broke the cloud sufficiently such that most areas were enjoying a dry, southerly, anticyclonic flow, though the best of the sunshine was in the sheltered west and northwest. Where strong sunshine did break through, then afternoon temperatures peaked into the low 20's degC (e.g. 26degC Malvern on Friday, 24degC in Leeds on Sunday), but overall, temperature levels were best described as 'around average'. The Channel Islands did well through, with lengthy periods of strong sunshine on Saturday and Sunday.

1988: (26th - 29th August)
UNSETTLED, CYCLONIC: COOLISH. WET ON SATURDAY. OFTEN WINDY.
Warmest = 24.4degC (Jersey [Channel Islands]/27th)
Sunniest = 12.0h (Bridlington [East Yorkshire]/26th)

A deep low moved towards north-west Scotland on the 27th (Saturday), where it became slow moving. This maintained an unsettled and often windy spell until the end of the month. Saturday was notably wet, with Elmdon [Birmingham], Finningley [nr. Doncaster/South Yorkshire] and Durham having their wettest days of that month. However, on Holiday Monday, much of the London / Home Counties & SE coastal region of England had an essentially fine day: the temperature in London reached 21degC, and many places in these areas had 10 to 12h of bright sunshine on a blustery west wind.

1989: (25th - 28th August)
BECOMING UNSETTLED/COOL. BLUSTERY NORTH WIND, EASING BY MONDAY.
Warmest = 24.4degC (Gatwick [West Sussex]/26th)
Sunniest = 13.5h (Isle of Wight/28th)

A change on the 24th (Thursday), after a warm, sunny third week of the month. Over the period 25th-27th (Friday to Sunday), a notable airmass change occurred, resulting in northerly winds by the afternoon of the Sunday, persisting into the Monday. On the Sunday, the wind became quite brisk, with a notable wind chill. It was notably sunless on Friday and in many parts on Saturday. On Friday, only Cardiff, with 3h, had any reasonable sunshine, and on Saturday, only places along the south coast of England had over 5h of bright sunshine .. many places had another day of no sunshine at all. The wind eased in strength on the Monday as a ridge moved east, with reasonable amounts of sunshine. Manchester had a fine day on the Bank Holiday Monday, with 11hr of sunshine and afternoon 'high' of 18degC. London, along with many other places across southern Britain did even better, with up to 13h of sunshine, but temperatures (due to the coolish northerly airmass) struggled to reach 19 or 20degC, even in the cities. Taking the holiday as a whole, the West Country probably did best, given the long land-track.