Discover the best time of year, based on historical climate, temperature, and precipitation.
The best weather in Nottingham is from June, July, August. — consistent weather climate
🌨Cold
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| Score | 13 | 15 | 19 | 39 | 61 | 79 | 80 | 80 | 73 | 41 | 18 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate | Cold | Cold | Cold | Cold | Mild | Mild | Mild | Mild | Mild | Cold | Cold | Cold |
| Temperature | 2–7°C | 2–8°C | 3–10°C | 4–13°C | 8–16°C | 11–19°C | 13–21°C | 13–21°C | 11–18°C | 8–14°C | 5–10°C | 4–8°C |
| Feels like | -3–3°C | -2–4°C | -1–6°C | 1–9°C | 5–14°C | 9–18°C | 12–20°C | 11–19°C | 9–16°C | 5–12°C | 1–7°C | 0–5°C |
| Precipitation | 51mm 9 days | 56mm 11 days | 69mm 14 days | 46mm 10 days | 66mm 11 days | 67mm 12 days | 72mm 13 days | 68mm 11 days | 67mm 10 days | 79mm 12 days | 65mm 10 days | 69mm 12 days |
| Sunshine | 3.4h ☀︎ 42% | 4.5h ☀︎ 46% | 5.5h ☀︎ 46% | 8.4h ☀︎ 60% | 9.1h ☀︎ 57% | 9.2h ☀︎ 54% | 9.9h ☀︎ 61% | 9.1h ☀︎ 62% | 7.2h ☀︎ 57% | 4.9h ☀︎ 46% | 3.5h ☀︎ 40% | 2.4h ☀︎ 32% |
| Wind | SW · 25 km/h | SW · 27 km/h | SW · 25 km/h | NW · 22 km/h | W · 21 km/h | W · 21 km/h | W · 21 km/h | SW · 22 km/h | W · 22 km/h | SW · 24 km/h | SW · 23 km/h | SW · 25 km/h |
| Humidity (%) | 86% | 82% | 80% | 75% | 75% | 74% | 73% | 75% | 79% | 84% | 87% | 89% |
| Day length | 8.2h | 9.9h | 11.9h | 14.0h | 15.8h | 16.8h | 16.3h | 14.7h | 12.7h | 10.6h | 8.7h | 7.7h |
One of Europe's oldest and largest travelling funfairs, Goose Fair takes over Nottingham's Forest Recreation Ground for…
Nottingham's Old Market Square transforms into a festive Winter Wonderland with an ice rink, Christmas market stalls, an…
Nottingham perversely fills to the brim during its coldest, dreariest winter months, while midsummer brings long, golden daylight, pleasant warmth, and the quietest streets of the year.
The conventional travel rhythm makes little sense in Nottingham. Driven by two sprawling universities, industrial business travel, and a relentless winter retail calendar, the city packs in its heaviest crowds between November and March, precisely when the skies turn steel-grey, the daylight shrinks to a meager handful of hours, and the damp air bites down to near freezing. Meanwhile, when summer arrives with ten hours of sunshine a day and temperatures hovering around an easy twenty degrees, the student population disperses, leaving England's legendary lace-and-rebel capital surprisingly peaceful. The midsummer weeks are not merely the finest time for weather; they are the moments when Nottingham finally breathes, giving you open pavement, sunlit red-brick heritage, and unhurried pints under leafy canopies.
July and August represent Nottingham at its absolute zenith, offering a rare combination in British travel: the best weather of the year coincides with the smallest crowds. With tens of thousands of university students departed for the summer break, the city center empties out into something approaching a tranquil regional hub. Sunlight lingers well past nine in the evening, illuminating the grand Victorian facades of the Lace Market and warming the sandstone cliffs beneath Nottingham Castle.
Life shifts effortlessly outside. The red-brick warehouses and converted lace mills of Hockley turn into pedestrian terraces where locals gather for cold ales and relaxed lunches. You can walk through the expansive deer park surrounding Wollaton Hall without threading through school excursions, or stroll the quiet towpaths alongside the River Trent as scullers drift past the embankments. The air feels comfortable and dry, with the occasional brief shower passing through without dampening the afternoon.
July is particularly remarkable for being the quietest month of the entire calendar year. Where other English heritage cities buckle under summer coach tours, Nottingham feels like a secret left behind by its own residents. Whether you are browsing independent bookshops or wandering the ancient subterranean sandstone cave entrances, you will rarely queue, rarely jostle, and never feel hurried.
September brings an abrupt snap back to metropolitan tempo. Students flood back into the lecture halls and avenues, filling the tram network and injecting a restless, youthful buzz into Hockley and the city center. The weather holds on gracefully through much of September; the afternoon light softens across the Georgian townhouses, and rainfall remains light and manageable, making it an invigorating period for brisk walking.
By October, the seasonal balance tips decisively toward autumn. The days grow sharply shorter, the tree canopies at the Forest Recreation Ground turn burnt copper, and moisture hangs heavier in the evening air. October is defined by the historic arrival of the Goose Fair, one of Europe's oldest travelling funfairs, which has occupied the city for over seven hundred years. For several frantic nights, the Forest Recreation Ground fills with the smell of mushy peas, steam from vintage rides, spinning neon lights, and thousands of bundled-up visitors braving the chill.
While October sees rainfall tick up to its highest intensity of the year, it is rarely torrential enough to derail a trip. You will need a stout waterproof coat and comfortable boots, but the communal warmth of the fair and the lively hum of the pubs make the damp chill feel atmospheric rather than oppressive.
If you visit between November and March, prepare for an inversion of standard travel logic: the city is profoundly busy, yet the climate is at its most hostile. December marks the absolute peak of congestion, driven by the sprawling Nottingham Winter Wonderland that takes over Old Market Square. The square glows with fairy lights, alpine timber stalls, and an ice rink, surrounded by throngs of shoppers clutching steaming cups of spiced wine in weather that hovers just above freezing.
The sensory experience of this season is dominated by cold damp. Daylight is scarce, often disappearing entirely before four in the afternoon, and cloud cover frequently locks the East Midlands into a monochrome twilight. When rain falls, it comes as a persistent, fine mist that hangs in the air and penetrates wool coats. Because apparent temperatures regularly sit close to zero, prolonged outdoor sightseeing requires deliberate pacing and strategic retreats into warm heritage pubs.
January and February offer little respite from the chill, and the crowds remain surprisingly resilient. Commerce, university terms, and regional sports fixtures keep foot traffic dense along the tram corridors. This is a period best suited for an indoor Nottingham: tracing literary history through cozy bookshops, exploring museum galleries, and lingering in timber-framed taverns where roaring hearths keep the midlands damp at bay. It is a working, living city at full tilt, but it offers none of the breezy ease of the summer months.
Spring arrives hesitantly in April, sweeping away the bone-deep winter gloom with a dramatic jump in daylight hours. April mornings are often crisp and brisk, requiring a knit jumper, but the sun finally breaks through the grey cloud sheet with real conviction. Cherry blossoms dust the lawns around Wollaton Hall, and the sandstone walls of Nottingham Castle soak up the midday heat.
May accelerates this thaw into genuine delight. Days stretch out with over nine hours of sunshine, the air warms into mild, jacket-free comfort, and the city's parks erupt into vivid green. Old Market Square sheds its winter austerity, and lunch breaks become outdoor affairs again. Foot traffic climbs noticeably in May as end-of-term energy mounts and bank holiday weekends arrive, giving the city an infectious, celebratory mood.
While May does see sudden spring showers, they are typically light and disperse quickly, leaving the pavements fresh and clear. It stands as the sweet prelude to summer: warm enough to explore on foot from dawn until dusk, yet still carrying the spark and verve of a university town before the great midsummer departure.