Europe
United Kingdom
About 66.5M people live in the United Kingdom, on 244,820 km² in 4 regions; the capital is London. The highest summit is Ben Nevis (1,345 m).
Best timeJul–Sep
Best weather in OctoberLondon 50
October: highs13° – 16°
Rain this month, on average96mm
Mean of its 13 most visited places. Best: Jul–Sep.
United Kingdom at a glance
The atlas follows 33,748 places here month by month, with 3,586 mountains and 26,904 monuments; across the most visited of them, the best months are July, August and September.
London now15°CPartly cloudy · 16:26Sunrise · sunset07:36 · 17:55LondonNext holiday25 DecemberChristmas DayEarthquakes0in the last 7 days (M2.5+)Events11660 concerts · 56 matches in 14 daysTravel adviceUS 2Exercise increased caution
33,748places in 4 regions3,586summits, highest Ben Nevis26,904monuments3,367museums3,612lakes322beaches11ski areas60festivals12,066huts, viewpoints, campsites…
United Kingdom's population
Every five years from 1950; from 2030 the projection.
+39%50.1M in 1950 → 69.6M in 2025 → 75.5M in 2050United Kingdom · In numbers
GDP per person (PPP)$64,6002025 · 26/181 among countries · World: $25,700
Life expectancy81.42024 · 42/212 among countries · World: 73.5
Living in towns and cities83 %2025 · 50/212 among countries · World: 58 %
Using the internet95 %2024 · 26/179 among countries · World: 71 %
Children per woman1.552024 · 139/212 among countries · World: 2.19
Forest cover13 %2024 · 145/206 among countries
The latest year each series has; the line is the whole series since 1960.
When to go to United Kingdom
The places with the best weather in each month, scored from their climate.
For the beach in August
Places and regions of United Kingdom
The most visited places with their score this month, then every region with what the atlas follows there.
50OctoberLondon
May–Jun · Sep
16° / 9°73 mm
33OctoberEdinburgh
Jun–Aug
13° / 6°92 mm
40OctoberBirmingham
Jun–Jul · Sep
14° / 7°74 mm
45OctoberCardiff
Jun–Jul · Sep
15° / 8°123 mm
31OctoberGlasgow
Jun–Aug
13° / 6°153 mm
37OctoberManchester
Jun–Aug
14° / 7°138 mm
40OctoberLiverpool
Jun–Aug
14° / 8°102 mm
40OctoberLeeds
Jun–Jul · Sep
14° / 8°80 mm
4 regions
United Kingdom from above
Every place scored for the month you pick: comfortable temperatures, dry days and clear skies.
OctoberMonth scores for United Kingdom
Photo: Daniel Nisbet from Manchester, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsReport this photo · linked, not stored
Photo: Alex Liivet / Laerol / TimVickers / TheCreator / PlutosAcademy · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsReport this photo · linked, not stored
Photo: Broad Street, Reading by Paul Gillett · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsReport this photo · linked, not stored
Photo: Mайкл Гиммельфарб (Mike Gimelfarb) · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsReport this photo · linked, not stored
Photo: Wilka Hudson from Newcastle, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsReport this photo · linked, not stored
Photo: Bojan Lazarevic, ZivojinMisic slike · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsReport this photo · linked, not stored
Photo: Stuart166axe at English Wikipedia · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsReport this photo · linked, not stored
Photo: Petesmiles at the English-language Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsReport this photo · linked, not stored
Nature in the United Kingdom
Summit1,345 m
Ben Nevis
Summit1,309 m
Ben Macdui
Summit1,258 m
Sgòr an Lochain Uaine
Lake
Lough Neagh
Lake
Loch Lomond
Lake
Lough ErneWildlife in October
The birds and mammals seen most this month, compared with the rest of their year.
.jpeg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
%20(April%202013).JPG){kind=link}
Outdoors in the United Kingdom
Hiking routes, ski areas and everything to do outdoors, counted.
Camp sites6,230Golf courses2,994Viewpoints1,336Climbing708Zoos269Mountain huts236Theme parks182Aquariums43Water parks39Surf spots27
Glenshee Ski Center62 km of pistes · 22 lifts
Cairngorm Mountain39 km of pistes · 12 lifts
Glencoe Mountain Resort23 km of pistes · 9 lifts
Gloucester Ski & Snowboard Centre1 km of pistes · 4 lifts
Garthdee Ski Centre1 km of pistes · 2 lifts
Better Ski & Board Centre0 km of pistes · 2 lifts
Southampton Alpine Centre0 km of pistes · 2 lifts
The Snow Centre Hemel Hempstead0 km of pistes · 4 lifts
Culture in the United Kingdom
26,904 monuments and 3,367 museums; the best known first.
Canterbury CathedralBuilt 597 · Norman
StonehengeBuilt 1848 BC · prehistoric Britain
Buckingham PalaceBuilt 1703 · Neoclassical
Tower of LondonBuilt 1066 · Norman
Tower BridgeBuilt 1886 · Gothic Revival
St Paul's CathedralBuilt 1675 · English Baroque
Museum
National GalleryBuilt 1824
Museum
Tate ModernBuilt 1889The festival year
Mar
AprCooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and WakeBrockworthChelsea Flower ShowCity of WestminsterHay FestivalHay-on-Wye
MayGlastonbury FestivalGlastonburyTrooping the ColourCity of WestminsterIsle of Wight FestivalNewport
JulNotting Hill CarnivalKensingtonEdinburgh Festival FringeEdinburghReading and Leeds FestivalsReading
Aug
OctRiver Thames frost fairsCanvey IslandLeeds International Film FestivalLeedsHyde Park Winter WonderlandKensington
Dec
What's on in the United Kingdom
Coming matches
23OctIpswich Town FC – Nottingham Forest FCPremier League · Ipswich · 20:00
23OctBolton Wanderers FC – Middlesbrough FCEFL Championship · Bolton · 20:00
24OctAston Villa FC – Manchester City FCPremier League · Birmingham · 12:30
24OctSheffield United FC – Derby County FCEFL Championship · Sheffield · 12:30
24OctCharlton Athletic FC – Norwich City FCEFL Championship · London · 12:30
Concerts and shows
22OctCabaret VoltaireRoundhouse · Chalk Farm
23Oct6 SENSEDrumsheds · Tottenham
27OctI Promised the WorldThe Grove · Gateshead
30OctGnoomesThe Holloway · Norwich
31OctAatDrumsheds · Tottenham
The ground and the sky in the United Kingdom
Earthquakes since 1950 and in the last month; eclipses, meteors and the moon as seen from the capital.
Last 30 days0magnitude 2.5 or moreSince 19501magnitude 5+, of them 0 of 6+StrongestM5.0Morfa Bychan 5 km ↙ · 1984Deadliest1,400deaths · 811The moon tonightWaxing gibbous85% · LondonNext eclipse20 Feb 2027Penumbral lunar eclipseOrionids~16 an hour21 October · LondonNorthern lightsKp 1.4is enough somewhere in the country
Getting to United Kingdom
17 large airports, 3,184 railway stations, 455 ferry ports; the ones closest to the most visited places.
Edinburgh AirportEDI · Edinburgh
11 kmBirmingham AirportBHX · Birmingham
11 kmCardiff International AirportCWL · Cardiff
15 kmGlasgow AirportGLA · Glasgow
11 kmManchester AirportMAN · Manchester
15 kmLiverpool John Lennon AirportLPL · Liverpool
12 kmCharing CrossLondon
0.2 kmEdinburgh WaverleyEdinburgh
0.4 kmBirmingham Snow HillBirmingham
0.3 kmCardiff CentralCardiff
0.5 kmGlasgow Queen StreetGlasgow
0.5 kmManchester PiccadillyManchester
0.6 kmAberdeen→ Kirkwall, Lerwick
0.4 kmStena Line Freight - VT1 South→ Heysham Ferry Terminal, Woodside (Mersey Ferry)
4.1 kmHarwich International Port→ Nieuwe Waterweg Stena Line 2
14 kmNewhaven Ferry Port→ Dieppe Ferry Port
14 kmRed Funnel Terminal 1→ Red Funnel
0.9 kmSeatruck Terminal→ Cruise Terminal (Berth 18)
22 kmPractical information
Plugs, money, phone numbers and the side of the road: the things to know before you land.
PlugsG230 V
Emergency112 · 999Calling code +44
TrafficOn the leftside of the road
CurrencyBritish PoundGBP
LanguagesEnglish · Welsh · Scottish Gaelic
Local time16:26London
Tipping
In restaurants 10–12.5% is usual unless a service charge is already on the bill; at the bar of a pub people do not tip.
Official travel advice
2/4Exercise increased cautionUS State Department · 8 Sept 2026