Remember the heatwave of 1976?

We indulged in an Oyster ice cream on week nights. Start of putting on weight, darn it, but they were delicious!

I went on holiday with my boyfriend ( later to become my DH). He got sunburnt walking through Glencoe. We went "wild swimming" under a waterfall and took the advice to share a bath with a friend!
I remember the ladybirds! And the standpipes.

Really enjoyed reading everyone’s memories of Summer ‘76 . I was on a Marine Biology course in Wales and the plants were drought-ridden, so the greenfly population plummeted and ladybirds starting biting people instead!
Had to share a student house with 4 other girls , one guy and 1 bathroom - standpipes in the street and water-rationed . One flush per day. Grim.

We had just arrived home from our holiday in Cornwall when our older son, aged 5, looked a bit chubby around the jaws. At the last moment of incubation, he had mumps! Younger brother caught it too. Luckily neither of them was at all poorly - just mumpy! they were able to play out in the garden, splashing in the paddling pool, all summer. DS1 told me this year that he took his dad to task for running the tap while brushing his teeth. I remember that summer for the drought more than for the heat which was bearable. Reservoirs were small pools at the bottom of bowls of cracked mud. When exH and I went for a night or two to Shropshire, it was depressing to see the smoke rising from blackened fields and the constant presence of fire engines.

I was doing my O levels and had to wear full uniform including tie for each exam. No windows opened in the hall and the heavy curtains were drawn.

Dennis Healey appointed a Minister for Drought after the heat wave went on. The day after he was appointed it rained!

Throwing up 24/7 as I was pregnant with my son. My poor daughter was two and I could hardly look after her. The heat made me much worse and I couldn’t leave the house. I put a paddling pool by the French doors into the garden and sat just inside. The best summer ever and I missed it!

I remember it well as I was pregnant with my first baby, she was born on 20th July, such a relief! She was 3 weeks early but was fine. I'd given up work 3 weeks before, should have been 6 weeks based on my due date, and spent the days in a darkened room with a fan, having frequent showers and going out to sit in the garden after dark!

We were running a youth hostel in North Devon that year. Due to the lack of rain potatoes went up to £8.95 a sack, a horrendous amount at the time.
Using a coal fired Aga to cook on for up to 60 guests was challenging at times.
On the plus side, we did have a sailing dinghy, and spent most of our free time on the water.

We had a holiday due so decided to go to the Lake District because in the past had experienced rainy weather there. Went walking up Cat Bells and other hills wearing sundress and walking boots with thick socks. When the tent next to ours burst into flames we packed up and went to the northeast coast where it was cooler and visited the Farne Islands etc.

I went on a 3+ week trip organised through school involving schools from up and down the country - coaches setting off on different days going through - well, Belgium, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, what is now Ukraine and Russia. And back again .. I think Yugoslavia too, but memory fails.

My passport stamps say Belgium 22 July 1976, Hungary was 25 - 26 July 1976, Czechoslovakia 13 August 1976.

Small hotels and camp sites, a government escort at all times. walked around Red Square, drove past the Olympic Stadium being built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Ballet in St Petersburg. I recall Romania as being incredibly poor, food was not good.

We stayed at what we were told was a popular seaside resort for the Moscow wealthy, diplomats and the like, in Odessa. Fairly primitive chalets as I recall, plagued by mosquitos - and were flooded out in flash storms! Had to sleep on the coach. Came home exhausted and grubby and desperate for a bath, my sister shrieking as I turned on the taps "The DROUGHT! The DROUGHT". Knew nothing about it.

I was 7 and I fainted in the school playground from the heat.

I remember it starting to rain and our teacher letting us all run outside to dance around in it .

I haven’t read past the first page - but this thread is fantastic, really interesting! Thanks everyone.
Chesnut I’m impressed by your skills as a diarist

Yes I got married on 25 September 1976! As we went into the reception at 5.00 it started to rain and didn’t seem to stop after that! On our Honeymoon in Torquey we couldn’t use the bath-plug was missing to make sure, water to room was 7.00-9.00 in morn and 5.00-7.00 in eve and please don’t flush the loo unless really need to- in a shared bathroom ugh! It rained most of that week and by the end my wedding sandals that I wore fell apart from being so wet. On the way home the trains had to go slowly due to flooding on the lines!

Ginny- It was my 13th birthday on 3rd and was so hot- we didnt want faff of dancing etc so i just went to a friends house for a couple of days, & me, her, & some other friends packed a picnic & went off exploring near her house.we couldnt sleep at nights & were up most of night talking with their big sash windows up.On monday my arms were sunburnt red raw & so hot i had to put wet towels on them & get some sunburn treatment cream at chemist.Mum was not pleased with me..I remember we had the street taps as well all summer.

It wasn't Denis Healey who was appointed Minister for Drought, it was Denis Howell. Wikipedia says: "In the last week of August 1976, during Britain's driest summer in over 200 years, (Howell) was made Minister for Drought (but nicknamed 'Minister for Rain').[4] Howell was charged by the Prime Minister with the task of persuading the nation to use less water – and was even ordered by No. 10 to do a rain dance on behalf of the nation.[5] Howell responded by inviting reporters to his home in Moseley, where he revealed he was doing his bit to help water rationing by sharing baths with his wife, Brenda.[5] Days later, heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding, and he became known as "Minister for Floods".[6][7] Then, during the harsh winter of 1978–1979 he was appointed Minister for Snow.[8] [9]" Should have been called "Minister for Pointless Appointments at the Public Expense".

My dd1 was 6 months old and dh away on a course fir 3 months. The summer had been hot, as was the previous summer when I was pregnant, but the heatwave which was around mid 30 s went on fir nearly 2 weeks but seemed longer.....stand pipes appeared and sharing baths etc was advocated.
I was at home indoors for days on end, feeling exhausted and struggling with a small baby, while my dh was having a great time on his course, which made things worse. I wasn’t a happy bunny.
The two days we have just had were hard but we already knew that by today things would be back to normal. Weather forecasts were less @ccurate in those far off days.

Toward the end of that hot dry summer of ‘76 I went on holiday to Greece on the “Magic Bus” (I seem to recall it cost me £50, a lot of money in those days!) We came back two weeks later to torrential rain, the drought well and truly over.

Howell was charged by the Prime Minister with the task of persuading the nation to use less water – and was even ordered by No. 10 to do a rain dance on behalf of the nation

That reminded me that I seem to remember that Bristol invited a Native American chieftain (I think) to come and do a rain dance!

I was pregnant. Nuff said!

I moved house from London to Essex during that heatwave.

I’m sure it was as hot then as it is now.

Greciangirl in 1976 we had 10 weeks over 30 degrees, 45 days with no rain, 15 days at 32.2 degrees or more. But these last two days have been hotter as we've gone over 40 degrees.
Highest in 1976 was 35.9 in Cheltenham
Highest yesterday 40.3 in Coningsby

Ten weeks? no wonder I was fed up.

We had a canal holiday and fortunately the boat had a very shallow draft. We cheerfully sailed past many boats who had run aground.