People crossing Westminster Bridge under umbrellas in the rain.

Layover guideLondon · LHR

Weather in London

Mild maritime climate: pack for rain in any month, light layers year-round, and increasingly real summer heat with no monsoon or snow season to plan around.

Lewis Clarke / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

All of London

Met Office Heathrow station data (recent complete years, 2020-2025): July-August mean daily maxima typically 23-26C; January mean daily maxima roughly 7-10C. Air frost is occasional in winter months, not the norm.

Rain falls year-round with no wet season: monthly totals at Heathrow swing widely (from near-zero to over 140mm in the recent record) and wet months occur in any season, so carry rain cover on every layover.

Summer heat is the emerging hazard: the Met Office reports days over 30C and nights over 18C more than quadrupled in Greater London in 2016-2025 versus 1961-1990, and 35C is now expected at some point in a summer hot spell.

Met Office Heathrow station data · checked 2026-08-18
Met Office (news, climate extremes) · checked 2026-08-18

The rest of London

The whole guide

Getting out of the airportBlack cabs on the meter from ranks outside each terminal with a small Heathrow pick-up charge, or three rail routes into town, only one of which runs through the night and only at weekends.Ride-hailingApps are legal but every ride is a pre-booked private hire job, the pick-up is in the short stay car park rather than the terminal kerb, and the app estimate replaces a meter.Local laws that catch crew outThe traps that catch crew here are blades, cannabis, and open alcohol on the transport network, and all of them come straight from UK government departments and TfL.Staying connectedFree wifi at Heathrow and Gatwick; PAYG SIMs and eSIMs sold with no contract or credit check.Eating near the crew hotelsFood markets are the efficient layover feed: Borough Market by London Bridge (closed Mondays), Old Spitalfields open daily; carry a card, everything takes contactless but a few stalls do not.What to buyNo VAT refund on goods you carry home; street markets (vintage, food) are the distinctive buy, and cards work nearly everywhere.TippingTipping is optional, not expected: 10-15% in restaurants only if no service charge is on the bill, round up taxis, and by law staff now keep 100% of tips.