Last updated: 23 October 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
Affiliate disclosure: This article contains affiliate and referral links, which are paid links. If you click one and buy or sign up, I earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. Brands don't choose what I feature or what I say about them.
The clocks go back on Sunday 25 October
The clocks go back at 2am on Sunday 25 October 2026, when British Summer Time ends and 2am becomes 1am. Your phone will sort itself out. The oven, the boiler timer and plenty of good-looking clocks will not. So after the date and what the change does to your bills, there are 20 clocks to up your timekeeping game, each with a note on what matters and what it says about your home. They run from Alessi and Vitra to a Japanese cuckoo clock and a wake-up light.
The clock I'd put by the bed
Of all 20 clocks here, the Loftie is the one I prefer for waking up, and it changes itself when the clocks go back.
When do the clocks go back in 2026?
In the UK, the clocks go back one hour at 2am on Sunday 25 October 2026. At that moment British Summer Time ends and the country returns to Greenwich Mean Time, so 2am becomes 1am. The Royal Observatory Greenwich and the GOV.UK clock change page give the same date and time. Every part of the UK changes at the same moment, Northern Ireland included. Then the clocks go forward again at 1am on Sunday 28 March 2027.
Which clocks change themselves, and which do not
Your phone, laptop and smartwatch update on their own, as long as the date and time are set to automatic. Radio-controlled clocks do too, because they read the time signal the National Physical Laboratory broadcasts from Anthorn in Cumbria. On the other hand, the oven, the car and most analogue clocks need changing by hand, and that includes almost every design clock further down this page.
The one that costs money is the central heating and hot water timer, which the Northern Ireland government site nidirect also flags in its clock change reminder. If your boiler runs on a timer that does not update itself, it stays on summer time. As a result, the heating comes on an hour early every morning and goes off an hour early every evening until you reset it.
What the clock change means for your energy bills
Going back an hour does not make the day any shorter. Instead, it moves an hour of daylight from the evening to the morning, so the lights go on an hour sooner when you get home. Two things are different this winter. First, the government has removed VAT from domestic electricity in Great Britain from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, according to the government's VAT notice on GOV.UK. Gas still carries 5% VAT, and electricity in Northern Ireland keeps its usual rate.
Second, Ofgem has set the price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026. It puts a typical dual fuel household paying by direct debit at £1,723 a year. That figure comes from Ofgem's summary of the October cap, and I cover what changed in my energy price cap October 2026 post. Under the cap, the average electricity unit rate is 26.32p per kWh, according to Ofgem's October to December rates.
As an illustration, six 8W LED bulbs on for an extra hour a day cost about 1.3p a day at that rate, or about 86p between 25 October and 31 December. By contrast, a 2kW electric heater costs about 52.6p for every hour it runs. In short, the lights cost pennies and the heating is where an earlier evening adds real money.
Four things to sort out when the clocks go back
The heating and hot water timer. Move it back an hour on Saturday night or Sunday morning, so the heating stops firing an hour before you get up.
Lamps on a sunset schedule. Apple Home, Google Home and Alexa can all run a routine at sunset rather than at a fixed time, so the switch-on time follows the season. My best smart lighting UK guide covers the bulbs, and my smart plugs guide covers plugs for the lamps you already own.
The thermostat. My smart heating controls guide prices up thermostats and radiator valves, and my winter energy saving tips cover the free fixes first, like turning down the boiler flow temperature.
The Warm Home Discount. It takes £150 off your electricity bill for winter 2026 to 2027 if you qualify, and you usually get it automatically. My Warm Home Discount explainer also covers who qualifies.
20 clocks to up your timekeeping game
If you are going to stand on a chair twice a year to change a clock, it may as well be a good one. Each one comes with a note on what matters before you buy and what it says about your style. Every pick below is on sale in the UK, and I checked every price on 13 October 2026. Four already have their own pages on this site, while the rest link straight to the shop.
Section 01 / Alessi
Alessi clocks
Three Alessi clocks from the UK shop, from a Philippe Starck wall clock at £65 to a steel sculpture of a clock at £180.
Alessi La Stanza dello Scirocco
Mario Trimarchi designed this wall clock as a small hexagonal face with steel panels in irregular shapes scattered around it. The name refers to the room in old Sicilian houses where people sat out the hot scirocco wind, according to Design Milk's report on the launch.
It is 33.5cm across and made of 18/10 stainless steel, and it also comes in black. The time is the smallest thing on it, so it suits a wall where you want an object first and a clock second.
What matters: Space. The steel panels spread well beyond the face, so it needs a clear stretch of wall.
What it says about your home: You would rather hang a clock than a print, and you like a wall that starts a conversation.
For the person who wants the wall to do the talking
£190 in steel, £180 in black
Alessi Walter Wayle II
Philippe Starck designed the Walter Wayle II in 1988, and in fact the Brooklyn Museum holds one in its collection. The body is a curved horn of grey plastic that sweeps out of a 25cm face, so it reads as a small sculpture even before you notice the hands.
At £65 it is also the cheapest wall clock in Alessi's UK clock range, and it runs on a quartz movement.
What matters: Somewhere clear to hang it, because the horn sweeps out from the wall and needs room on all sides.
What it says about your home: You like 1980s design with a sense of humour.
For a first piece of Starck
£65
Alessi Cronotime
Pio Manzù's Cronotime is a black cylinder with the clock face cut in at an angle, so it tilts up towards you on a desk. Because it stands 8.5cm tall with a 7cm face, it is about the size of a mug.
Like the other two Alessi clocks here, it needs changing by hand twice a year.
What matters: Size. At 8.5cm tall it suits a desk or a bedside table rather than a big room.
What it says about your home: You keep a tidy desk and like small, solid objects.
For a tidy desk
£65
Section 02 / Design classics
Designer clocks from Vitra, HAY and more
Two George Nelson designs, two Jasper Morrison clocks, a Danish silversmith's alarm clock and two flip clocks.
Vitra Ball Clock
Back in 1947, George Nelson was asked to design a collection of clocks. Vitra says he worked out that people read a clock from the position of its hands rather than the numbers, so he left the numbers off. The Ball Clock is one of the results: twelve wooden balls on metal rods around the centre.
Today it is 33cm across and runs on a quartz movement. Vitra sells it direct in the UK, with most colours at £295 and the cherry and the black and brass versions at £380.
What matters: The finish, because it moves the price from £295 to £380.
What it says about your home: You care about mid-century design and are happy for people to notice it.
For the person who already owns an Eames chair
From £295
Vitra Night Clock
The Night Clock is another George Nelson design from the same 1950s collection, now made by Vitra for its Design Museum range. A brass drum holds a domed black face with white dots for the hours, on a short brass stand.
Aram sells it in brass with the black face at £375, and Utility Design had the same clock at £318.75 when I checked. Both make it to order, so allow a few weeks for delivery.
What matters: The wait. Both shops make it to order, so order early if it is a present.
What it says about your home: You treat the bedside table as part of the room, not a dumping ground.
For the bedside table that deserves better than a phone
£318.75 to £375
Jasper Morrison Table Clock
Jasper Morrison drew this table clock in 2008, and HAY makes it. It is a round face on a short foot with only the 12, 4 and 8 printed, and no alarm, radio or app. SCP also sells a recycled-plastic version in four colours, and my page on it compares it with the original.
What matters: It has no alarm, so it is a clock to look at rather than one to wake up to.
What it says about your home: You like things plain and useful.
For the person who likes things quiet
£95
HAY Wall Clock
HAY's wall clock is the wall-mounted member of the same Jasper Morrison family, in aluminium with an acrylic front and a silent sweeping second hand. The 26.5cm green version has a yellow second hand.
Nordic Nest had it at £85, down from £119. However, delivery to the UK is £9.90 on orders under £99.
What matters: Delivery. Under £99, Nordic Nest adds £9.90, which changes the sum.
What it says about your home: You like a bit of colour on a plain wall.
For the kitchen wall
£85
Georg Jensen Koppel alarm clock
Henning Koppel drew this alarm clock for Georg Jensen in 1978. Otherwise it is a 10cm steel disc on a holder, with a beep alarm and nothing else. My page on it also has the stockists and the lookalikes to avoid.
What matters: It is 10cm across, so it suits a bedside or a desk rather than a shelf across the room.
What it says about your home: You like objects that last and can sit out on display.
For the person who wants an alarm clock that looks like jewellery
From £105
Gejst Momentt
Böttcher & Kayser designed the Momentt for the Danish brand Gejst in 2018. The hands sit behind a diffused acrylic front, so they blur and fade towards the centre of the 30cm face, and the steel case is matt black.
Similarly, Nordic Nest had it at £85, down from £96.
What matters: The blur makes the exact minute harder to read at a glance, so it suits a room where precision matters less.
What it says about your home: You prefer a softer look to a standard clock face.
For the person who wants a clock that looks soft-focus
£85
Established & Sons Font Clock
Sebastian Wrong's Font Clock is a flip clock that shows each number in a different typeface, twelve in all, from Bodoni to Franklin Gothic and Helvetica. As the cards flip, the display keeps changing style.
Meanwhile, the small G100 size is 29cm wide and can stand on a desk or hang on the wall. Haus has it at £588, while the medium and large sizes cost more.
What matters: Price and size. The G100 is the small one, at 29cm, and it is still £588.
What it says about your home: You notice typography, and you want a clock that rewards guests who do too.
For the designer who notices kerning
£588
24 Hour Clock/Calendar
A small Hong Kong company has made this flip clock and calendar since 1968, according to Present & Correct. It shows the day, the date, the month and the time on flip cards. It also runs on a single C battery for about three years, and comes in stone, black or a bright yolk yellow.
What matters: One C battery runs it for about three years, so there is no cable and no charging.
What it says about your home: You run your week from a desk and like seeing the date as well as the time.
For the desk that needs to know what day it is
£275
Section 03 / Cuckoo clocks
Cuckoo clocks, minus the carving
Two modern takes on the cuckoo clock, both in plain white.
Magis Cu-Clock
Naoto Fukasawa's Cu-Clock for Magis is a white plastic house with a coloured roof, so it reads as a cuckoo clock from across the room. The cuckoo pops out and calls on the hour, and once on the half hour, and you can switch the sound off.
Haus lists it as a discontinued design in its clearance section, at £250 down from £358, in orange or green.
What matters: Haus lists it as discontinued, so the colour you want may not come back.
What it says about your home: You like tradition, as long as it comes with a wink.
For the person who wanted a cuckoo clock but not a Black Forest one
£250
MUJI Cuckoo Clock, large
MUJI's version is a plain white house shape that can stand on a shelf or hang on a wall. It chimes on the hour or every half hour, and a light sensor stops it chiming in the dark, so it stays quiet at night.
The large one is 26.7cm tall, and it also comes with its AA battery.
What matters: The light sensor, which keeps it quiet once the lights go off.
What it says about your home: You like plain, well-made things that do one job.
For the hallway
£69.95
Section 04 / Smart clocks
Clocks that change themselves
Five clocks that set their own time, or wake you with light instead of a beep.
Mondaine stop2go Wi-Fi wall clock
This is the Swiss railway clock that Hans Hilfiker designed in 1944, with the red second hand that pauses for two seconds at the top of every minute. The Wi-Fi version sets itself up once from your phone, and the Swiss railways shop says it switches between summer and winter time automatically.
In addition, the case is 25cm aluminium, and Mondaine sells it direct in the UK.
What matters: Wi-Fi. It sets itself up once from your phone, then handles the clock change on its own.
What it says about your home: You like things that run on time, quite literally.
For the only analogue clock in the house that will not need a chair on 25 October
£289
Loftie Clock
Loftie is an alarm clock built to keep your phone out of the bedroom. It has a two-phase alarm that starts with a soft chime, a library of sleep sounds and a soft nightlight. Loftie says its clocks adjust for the clock change automatically as long as they are connected to Wi-Fi. Of the two wake-up clocks here, the Loftie is the one I prefer.
Prices on Loftie's UK site run from £139.99 to £159.99 depending on the finish. My Loftie page covers the features, the finishes and where to buy it.
What matters: It needs Wi-Fi to change itself for the clock change.
What it says about your home: You would rather leave your phone in another room at night.
For the person who scrolls in bed
From £139.99
Lumie Bodyclock Spark 100
Lumie is a Cambridge company that has made light therapy lamps since 1991. The Spark 100 brightens over 30 minutes before your alarm, like a sunrise, and fades down at night. Lumie clocks are ugly but effective.
However, you set the time by hand in the menu, so it is one to change on 25 October.
What matters: The light, not the looks. It does the job well, and you set the time by hand.
What it says about your home: You put getting up on time ahead of how the bedside looks.
For the person who cannot get up in the dark
£99
Lumie clocks are ugly but effective. Of the two wake-up clocks here, the Loftie is the one I prefer.
Stiv
Nintendo Alarmo
Nintendo's Alarmo wakes you with scenes from its games, and a motion sensor notices when you stir and stops the alarm once you get up. Nintendo says it syncs its time over the internet through Wi-Fi. My page on it also covers the game scenes and the three alarm modes.
What matters: Where it sits, because the motion sensor needs to see you move.
What it says about your home: You grew up with Nintendo and still play.
For the person who wakes up to Mario
£89.99
Amazon Echo Spot
The Echo Spot is a small round smart alarm clock with a screen, a speaker and Alexa. It shows the time, the weather and what is playing, and it can also control smart lights. If you want a full smart speaker, my smart speakers guide covers the bigger ones.
It was £109.99 on Amazon when I checked on 22 October, its full price, though it drops a lot in Amazon sales.
What matters: It makes most sense if you already use Alexa for lights or music.
What it says about your home: Your home already runs on voice commands and smart plugs.
For the bedside in a smart home
£109.99
Section 05 / Under £30
Clocks under £30
Two cheap clocks that still look considered.
Braun BC26 time teacher wall clock
Braun's time teacher clock has a red hour hand, a blue minute hand and the minutes printed round the edge, with quarter past, half past and quarter to marked. It is 23cm across and runs on one AA battery, and it does not tick because the quartz movement is silent.
What matters: It is silent, so it will not keep a light sleeper awake.
What it says about your home: You want good design in the kids' room as much as anywhere else.
For a child's bedroom
£30
Menkind #Winning LED word clock
This word clock lights up the words to spell out the time, so it reads "it is twenty five minutes past twelve" rather than showing numbers. It is 30cm square and 4.5cm deep, and it runs on USB-C or batteries as well.
What matters: Power. It runs on USB-C or batteries, so decide whether you want a cable on show.
What it says about your home: You like a bit of fun, and you would rather read the time than count it.
For the person who likes to read the time
£22
For younger children, the Yoto Player is an audio player with a clock and a night light built in. My page on it covers the cards and the price.
Clocks go back 2026 FAQs
Do I need to change the time on my phone?
No. A phone set to update the date and time automatically changes itself at 2am on Sunday 25 October 2026. If yours is set manually, change it by hand when you wake up.
Do I get an extra hour in bed?
Yes. At 2am on Sunday the clocks go back to 1am, so Saturday night is 25 hours long. Then again, it also means an hour less daylight in the evening from Sunday onwards.
Do the clocks go back in Northern Ireland too?
Yes. Every part of the UK changes at the same moment, at 2am on Sunday 25 October 2026. However, the VAT cut on electricity only applies in England, Scotland and Wales, so Northern Ireland bills keep their usual VAT.
When do the clocks go forward in 2027?
At 1am on Sunday 28 March 2027, according to GOV.UK. After that, they go back again on Sunday 31 October 2027.
Which alarm clocks look good on a bedside table?
That comes down to taste. On this page, the Georg Jensen Koppel alarm clock is the design classic at £105. The Loftie is the one I prefer for waking up, and the Vitra Night Clock is a bedside clock without an alarm. I also checked those prices on 13 October 2026.
Do smart clocks change automatically when the clocks go back?
Yes, as long as they set their time over Wi-Fi. Loftie says its clocks adjust automatically while they are connected to Wi-Fi. Nintendo says the Alarmo syncs its time over the internet, and the Mondaine stop2go Wi-Fi clock switches between summer and winter time by itself. The Lumie Bodyclock Spark 100 is set by hand, so it needs changing like any other clock.
More from CoolCuration
- Best desk accessories UK: Light, screen height and the desk kit your hands touch all day.
- Christmas stationery gifts: Design-led stationery and desk gifts, from Smythson to the independents.
- Should you fix your energy tariff?: Whether a fix beats the price cap right now, with named fixes and exit fees.
- Gifts for designers: More design objects for people who care how things look.
- Snoop app: A free UK money app that watches your bills and flags better deals.
What's trending
Recent posts
- Clocks Go Back 2026: The Date, the Time and 20 Clocks to Up Your Timekeeping Game
The clocks go back at 2am on Sunday 25 October 2026. What changes itself, what the darker evenings do to your energy bill, and 20 clocks to up your timekeeping game, from Alessi and Vitra to a MUJI cuckoo clock. - Best Smart Lighting UK: What I Use at Home, and What I’d SkipThe best smart lighting UK picks from my own home: Hue bulbs, a lightstrip, switches and sensors, with prices and running costs.
- Frieze London 2026 Review: Why It Only Gets Two StarsThree visits to Frieze London 2026, a Deutsche Bank lounge full of Studio Lenca, and why the fair only gets two stars.
No Comments.