"British winter months?" Topic

I'm looking at setting up a dark age campiagn based in Britian. Which month/months is it just too cold to wander far from the heath if any? I need to also consider Viking raids by sea.

Which bit of Britain? The south is much less affected than northern England and very much less than Scotland.

I think it was a tad chillier in the Dark Ages than now, however given our proximity to the Gulf Stream it is generally only really cold in January/February, in earlier times possibly December too. It is however quite dark for much of the time during winter months (8 hour day at best here in northern England, less in Scotland) which limits campaiging. It also pelts with rain in autumn and spring, which make the roads muddy.

And currently pelting with rain now! I couldn't get to work earlier this week as the rail line was flooded on the south coast. Nothing is too unpredictable for British weather!

Out in the Brecon beacons the weather stays cold and damp for quite a while (it is why the British army like training there).

IMHO the North sea is never suitable for sailing, but I would guess October to March would be risky and avoided if possible.

"It also pelts with rain in autumn and spring"….. don't forget often for the majority of the Summer months too!

British weather is highly variable with little guarantee of conditions from one year to the next. The following is a rough approximation that might be of use.

November/December are traditionally the months of the winter gales cutting down sea travel. The worst time for shear cold is traditionally January/February.

Hight makes more difference to times of pass-ability than difference in latitude. With mountain passes in The Highlands and Pennines starting to block from mid November and be free by mid March but low level places much shorter time to none at all.

x42

The Vikings launched a surprise attack on Alfred at Christmas, while he was residing in Chippenham. Although going into winter (December/February) quarters seems to be the norm, some forces were prepared to wage war at this time!
I live in the "soft" south and the weather is generally warmer & sunnier down here than that experienced up north;-).

I'm in Glasgow.
I'm looking out of the window.
I'm thinking you should include June on your list.

You could also maybe be aware that in the North ( well where I am in Belfast) that is doesnt get dark in june till about 10.30-11pm at night and during December/Early January it is getting towards pitch black at about 15.30 -16.00…which could lead to restrictions on marching and battle length

oops I just realised that Martin Rapier just explained all that ..Sorry to say it all again

I'm sure you've thought about it already, but Weather will also restrict campaigning indirectly, such as by the requirement to sow, reap and harvest. All of which are manpower intensive and vital for community survival.

Just set you campaign in Australia Max :)

Thanks everyone for your help. I'll average down the results and restrict Viking or Saxon sea raids in November December and same on land for December/January.
(Lol Mashreba. Well its winter and pretty cold here ATM too. I had to put a jumper on to go to go out tonight.)

Depends on climate at the time. England in the past has suffered 'mini ice ages' – think Dickens – but for part of the Medieval period was considered a fair wine growing region.

I think it is not temperature you need to worry about. A nice fur cloak should sort that out!

It is rain and short winter days that would restrict movement of armies.

I would guess that when the Danes attacked Alfred at Christmas the weather was probably bright, sunny and cold!

I live in the north east of england and you are a brave soul just to leave your house in january! Cold windy grey gloomy, oh and right now june is not much better. For a good feel of NE weather whatever it is we get a lot of it ie, v cold v wet v windy it is rare it is just mild and pleasant.

Im up in the North as well (North Yorkshire) and its actually been rather mild this year. I've only been snowed in once.

Rain however has flooded us many a time. Its nice to go on Middleham castle when its been raining for 2 or 3 days to see the vast moat that the river has made.

'…beginning at the solstice and ending on the following equinox – in the Northern Hemisphere, depending on the year, this corresponds to the period between 21 or 22 December and 20 or 21 March…'

This a purely technical definition, nothing to do with local climatic variations, any and all religious festivals, etc.

With only four seasons and twelve months to spread them over, this seems as good as anything else.

Yes indeed, rain is much more limiting than cold here. Lots of swampy ground and wetlands in Dark Ages, and roads that would turn to porridge on an almost daily basis for much of the year.

Wouldn't campaigning seasons revolved more around the planting and harvesting? Surely a sensible Lord wouldn't have mustered his forces at the cost of jeopardizing his food supply for the next year.

Billy Yank

Just remember that in Old English (Anglo Saxon) the word for "year" is "winter" so it must be all twelve months.