Set the alarm clock for 5:50 am

Leave this tab open — the alarm only rings while the tab stays open.

The alarm goes off in: ::

You can also try the other alarm clocks

Alarm clock for 5:48 am Alarm clock for 5:49 am Alarm clock for 5:51 am Alarm clock for 5:52 am

Going to bed for a 5:50 am alarm

Asleep by 8:35 pm — 6 full sleep cycles, about 9 hours
Asleep by 10:05 pm — 5 full sleep cycles, about 7 hours
Asleep by 11:35 pm — 4 full sleep cycles, about 6 hours

A sleep cycle runs about 90 minutes, and most people take around 15 minutes to drop off. Waking at the end of a cycle feels easier than waking in the middle of one.

5:50 am across the country

London	5:50 am
Birmingham	5:50 am
Manchester	5:50 am
Glasgow	5:50 am
Belfast	5:50 am

Times are worked out live in your browser, so daylight saving is already accounted for.

How to use the online alarm clock

As you hand the sheep round over to the next person, a 5:50 am alarm marks the moment to explain which fields have been checked and where the flock was last seen. Those ten minutes before 6:00 am leave room for a brief, practical handover without delaying the start of the farm’s early circuit.

For a sheep round that begins before the yard is fully awake, the alarm signal needs checking while there is still time to change the setup. A short test beforehand confirms that the volume is audible from where the handover happens and that the selected sound is recognisable. If the browser is no longer active when 5:50 am arrives, the sheep round may receive no audible warning, so a separate clock alarm should cover this responsibility.

Whoever takes over the sheep round should allow for the journey as well as the work itself. Welsh lanes may be quiet at this hour, yet an unlit farm track, a closed gate or livestock on the road can add several minutes. Working backwards from the required arrival at the first field gives a more useful departure time than assuming the drive will be clear simply because it is early.

Common questions

Do I need an account or an app?

Neither. Choose a time and a sound, press Start, and it runs in this browser tab. Nothing is downloaded, nothing is registered, and closing the page leaves nothing behind on the device.

Can I change the sound?

Yes, there is a short list of tones to pick from before you press Start. Softer sounds are easy to sleep through, so a firmer bell tends to be the safer choice for anything early in the morning.

Will it still be right when the clocks change?

Yes. It reads your device's local clock, so the move between GMT and BST at the end of March and October is picked up automatically, as long as the computer's date, time and time zone are set correctly.

Can I use this on a phone?

It works in a mobile browser, but phones lock the screen and suspend background tabs far more readily than a laptop does, which can stop the alarm sounding. For anything important, a desktop or a plugged-in laptop is the steadier option.