London Weather Month by Month for a Black Cab Tour

Rain is not the constraint here. You spend most of a black cab tour inside a heated vehicle, and the photo stops are yours to take or skip. What the calendar really decides is how much light you get, what is lit up after dark, and how slowly the traffic moves — and those three change enormously between June and December.

What the weather actually does to a tour here

Three things, in order of how much they will change your day.

Daylight decides what you can see. In mid-December London is dark by about four in the afternoon. In mid-June it is light until after nine. A 2pm booking is a daylight tour in one and a night tour in the other, and neither is worse — they are simply different products, and you should know which one you are buying.

Traffic decides how much fits. Your booking is a fixed block of hours, and July in central London moves more slowly than February. A driver who knows the back routes is what absorbs that, which is the thing travellers praise most in the reviews.

Rain decides almost nothing. That is the honest answer and it is the format's biggest advantage over a walking tour or an open-top bus. Bring a coat for the stops you want to make and carry on.

London month by month

Temperatures are the mean daily maximum and minimum, computed from the Met Office's published Heathrow station record for 1991–2020. Light is sunrise to sunset, rounded, for the middle of the month. Both are averages, so read them as the shape of the month rather than a forecast.

January

8°C / 3°C, about 08:00 to 16:20. The quietest month and the cheapest week of the year to find a slot. The lights come down in the first days, so the Christmas runs stop. Short daylight means a 2pm booking ends in the dark, which suits the river and the floodlit fronts.

February

9°C / 3°C, about 07:15 to 17:15. An hour of daylight comes back and the afternoon opens up again. Half-term brings families into the centre and slows the traffic around Westminster. Book a morning start if you want the Guard, because the schedule thins in winter.

March

12°C / 4°C, about 06:15 to 18:05, then an hour later after the clocks change. British Summer Time starts on the last Sunday of the month and moves sunset straight to about seven. That single change turns an afternoon tour from a twilight run into a daylight one. The parks start to look like the photographs.

April

15°C / 6°C, about 06:05 to 19:55. Long light, moderate crowds and the most reliable month for a tour that wants to be outside the cab. Rain is ordinary rather than heavy. The Long Walk at Windsor is at its best, so it is a good month for the day trip.

May

18°C / 9°C, about 05:10 to 20:45. Fifteen and a half hours of daylight, which is enough for a six-hour tour to start at ten and still finish in full sun. Two bank holidays close roads in the centre. Ask your driver which weekend they are, because it changes the route.

June

22°C / 12°C, about 04:45 to 21:20. The longest days of the year: sunset is after nine, so an evening booking is a genuine option. Crowds thicken at every royal stop. The cab is air-conditioned on most of these tours, which matters more this month than any other.

July

24°C / 14°C, about 05:00 to 21:10. The warmest month and the busiest. Traffic in the centre is at its slowest, which eats into a fixed booking, so a morning start buys more than an afternoon one. Photo stops are easier before ten and after seven.

August

23°C / 14°C, about 05:45 to 20:25. Still warm, still busy, and the month when road closures for events are most likely. Daylight starts pulling back by nearly two hours across the month. A four-hour booking still finishes well before dark.

September

20°C / 12°C, about 06:35 to 19:15. The month most travellers should choose. Warm enough to stand about at the stops, quiet enough that the traffic moves, and long enough that an afternoon tour still ends in daylight. Reviews cluster here for a reason.

October

16°C / 9°C, about 07:25 to 18:05, then an hour earlier after the clocks change. British Summer Time ends on the last Sunday and sunset drops back to about half past four. The wettest month on the Heathrow record. None of that stops a cab tour, and the parks are worth the detour.

November

12°C / 5°C, about 07:20 to 16:10. The Christmas lights are switched on during the month, street by street, and the lights tours begin. Dark by half past four, so a 4pm start is already an evening tour. Book the lights runs now rather than in December.

December

9°C / 3°C, about 08:05 to 15:55. The shortest days of the year and the busiest weeks for the lights. A 2pm booking finishes after dark, which is the point in December rather than a problem. Evening slots on the lights tours go first, so book early.

The seasons, and which one you want

Spring, March to May. The clocks change, the afternoon opens up and the crowds have not arrived. If you want one recommendation for a first visit, this is it.

Summer, June to August. The longest light and the slowest traffic. Take a morning start, take the air conditioning seriously, and expect every royal stop to be busy.

Autumn, September and October. September is the best single month of the twelve: warm, long enough, and quieter than August. October brings the wettest weeks on the record and the clocks going back.

Winter, November to February. Dark early, quiet, and the only time the Christmas lights exist. If you are here in December, the lights run is the tour to book — the two of them are on the Christmas lights page.

Best time of day

Early morning is the only way to be in place for the Changing of the Guard, and the roads are empty enough that a two-hour tour covers what usually takes three.

Late morning to mid-afternoon is when most of these tours run, and it is the right window for a first orientation of the city.

Late afternoon into evening is the interesting one, and it moves with the season. From November to February it is a floodlit tour by four o'clock. From May to August the same slot is broad daylight and the parks are the reason to take it.

Frequently asked questions

Which tour suits which month is worked through in black cab tours through the year, and what each fare covers is on the planning page.

To match a month to a tour, the London black cab Christmas lights tours are set out with their hours and their seasons on Black Cab London Tours.