Although it’s not often bitterly cold like the winter, it’s not quite time for sunglasses and shorts either as spring can be rather wet and windy. Sometimes the UK is lucky enough to have a calm, dry spell. (Brits are always crossing their fingers!) It is usually around 11°C, so you will need a good jacket, but you can leave the scarves, gloves, and hats at home. That being said, strange weather patterns have been recorded in March! We’ve seen heat waves of over 20 °C as well as snowstorms on the same date across different years. Another example is that it can be as cold as 3℃ in March, but as hot as 30℃ in May – do you understand what Brits mean by ‘varied’ weather now?!

Furthermore, the British countryside and wildlife thrive during Spring. In the UK, the first signs of spring are signalled by the sound of birdsong, buds on trees and early spring flowers, such as snowdrops and daffodils. This is also the time when our hedgehog and dormice friends come out of hibernation, but this depends on how quickly outdoor temperatures pick up. Similarly, another familiar sign of spring is the appearance of jelly-like spawn in ponds. In spring, frogs and toads emerge and begin to spawn following hibernation. As the weather warms up, many of our migrant birds return to the UK and chiffchaffs are usually one of the first in March. They can be heard singing their names in a repetitive ‘chiff chaff’ song from the tops of trees. Swallows, cuckoos and house martins usually arrive in April, followed by swifts in early May. And finally, the beloved bumblebees start to return in March! These will be queens who have survived the harsh winter and are in search of spring flowers.

The weather in the UK is famously unpredictable. Yet spring is a time for sudden rain showers, blossoming trees, flowering plants and animals giving birth.