Daylight makes May feel longer than the 31 days on the calendar. By the end of the month the sun sets after nine o'clock across most of England and closer to ten in the north of Scotland, and the mornings are light from four. It is the fastest-lengthening stretch of the year after the March equinox.
May sits in the middle of the second calendar quarter and in the second month of the tax year, so both of the year's main reporting cycles are freshly reset and running quietly. It is the point where budgets set in April meet the first real test of what the year is actually doing.
May 2026 closes with half term finishing and the examination season at its height. June follows with the longest days of the year, the solstice on the 21st, and no bank holiday anywhere in the United Kingdom to break the month up.
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