Walkers and outdoor enthusiasts faced gloom and rain rather than sunburn this summer

Official figures are likely to confirm what outdoor enthusiasts already suspected: this summer has been one of the wettest, dullest and coolest on record.

Met Office data up to yesterday showed that the three summer months were cumulatively the wettest since 1912.

Across the UK, 366.8mm of rain fell in June, July and August, not quite enough to beat the earlier record of 384.4mm.

This summer also looks like being the dullest for many years with just 399 hours of sunshine up to Tuesday, the least since 1980.

The summer months saw a mean temperature of 14C, 0.4C below the long-term average, though it was slightly warmer than last summer, which could muster a mean of only 13.7C.

A Met Office spokesperson said: “Unsettled weather has never been far from the UK during the past three months.

“Movements in the track of the jetstream, a narrow band of fast flowing westerly winds high in the atmosphere, have contributed to the weather we have seen.

“This summer has seen periods of heavy and prolonged rain, as well as short but exceptionally heavy thundery downpours and only brief warm sunny spells.”

Cumbria saw flash flooding earlier today and the first snow has been reported falling on Cairn Gorm today, marking the beginning of the build-up to the winter mountaineering season.

The disappointing summer statistics add to the spring gloom, which saw the UK suffer its wettest April to June period on record.