You wouldn’t know it from the weather right now (I’m literally wearing two jumpers as I type because I refuse to stick the heating back on), but we’re in the middle of spring. And even bigger surprise might be that Birmingham is about to experience one of its latest sunsets of the year this weekend.
Birmingham’s first 9pm sunset of 2026 arrives on Sunday, May 17, when the sun will set exactly at 21:00. To put it into context, we haven’t experienced a sunset that late since July 31, 2025. With the sun also rising at 05:08, get ready for 15 hours, 51 minutes and 25 seconds of pure sunlight (if, you know, the clouds decide to disperse).
The days will only be getting longer every day from then on until Sunday, June 21 (aka Summer Solstice), when the Northern Hemisphere is most tilted towards the Sun. On the longest day of the year, the sun will rise at 04:44 and set at 21:34, offering 16 hours, 49 minutes and 37 seconds of daylight.
It’s from then on that the days will start getting shorter, but most of us won’t notice, as it’s also when summertime really kicks into gear. In fact, 9pm sunsets are expected to last in Birmingham right up until the very end of July, while the last 8pm sunset isn’t until August 30, 2026.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There’s the whole of summer to enjoy until then, and a whopping 76 sunsets in Birmingham that take place after 9pm, and I’m planning on enjoying every single one of them—so, find your nearest westerly-facing rooftop bar, beer garden, beach or wherever, and soak it all in!
