Do the clocks change tonight – and do they go forward or backwards?

Do we get an extra hour in bed, or lose one? (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

It only seems like yesterday we were changing the clocks for winter, but now spring is here we’re switching to British Summer Time (BST).

The weather is warming up, longer days, shorter nights and floral fields beckon – along with the Easter holidays – but when do the clocks actually change?

Do they go forwards or back, and most importantly, do we gain or lose an hour in bed?

So before you pile in and grapple with the oven clock – not to mention the infernal one in the car – let’s find out when we switch from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to BST, and what you need to do.

Do the clocks change tonight?

Officially, the clocks change at 1am on Sunday morning, March 26.

But if you’re going to bed before then tonight (Saturday, March 25), and want them to show the right time when you wake up, then you’ll need to change them this evening.

Tonight’s the night to change those clocks (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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Do the clocks go forward or back?

At 1am on Sunday, March 26 the clocks will go forwards by one hour.

There’s an easy way to remember – in spring, the clocks ‘spring forwards’.

So we do lose an hour in bed – but the evenings will immediately be lighter.

And summer will be even closer!

Summer days are getting closer (Picture: Getty Images)

Why do the clocks change?

The idea was put forward in 1907 in Britain by builder William Willett, who was angry at the ‘waste of daylight’ during summer mornings.

Several countries, including the UK, adopted it during the First World War.

During the Second World War, British Double Summer Time – two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) – was temporarily introduced. This was to ‘improve productivity’.

Curator of the Royal Observatory, Louise Devoy, says: ‘When the clocks first changed, there were concerns that delicate striking clocks could be damaged by people trying to force the hands back an hour. Official warnings and guidelines were printed in newspapers and magazines to reduce the number of clock “casualties”.’

MORE : The best places across the UK to see spring blossom in all its glory

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Find out if you get an extra hour in bed – or not