For many people, the thought of winter approaching and the dark, chilly evenings in store is a depressing one.
But for others, there is something seductive about the long nights, with the landscape looking dreamy in the pale moonlight glow, and the city streets bathed in dazzling light.
This retro photo gallery is for the night owls among you, capturing after-dark scenes across the UK, from the dawn of the 20th century right up to the 1990s.
From the Blackpool illuminations to late-night swimming and the thrill of the funfair, these atmospheric photos show the nation coming alive after dark.
They capture the shift workers, putting in a hard slog while most of us are sleeping, and the lovers, enjoying romantic strolls under starry skies.
Whether you enjoy your extra hour’s sleep or it messes with your circadian rhythm, you might be interested to know the history behind daylight saving time.

17. Motoring revolution
Motorists inspect a device designed to reduce dazzle from a vehicle's headlights, fitted here on an Austin, in 1925 | Getty Images Photo: MacGregor

18. Lovers Coach
A coach service run on Sunday nights to take young men from the Forest of Dean to their sweethearts, most of whom are in domestic service in Cheltenham, in 1932 | Getty Images Photo: Fox Photos

19. Night-time rescue
RSPCA official Nigel Bligh holding a rescued kitten at an RSPCA night emergency service, in January 1964 | Getty Images Photo: R. McPhedran/Express

20. Always welcome
A view through the new welcome arch on Blackpool promenade in September 1954, a week after Gilbert Harding inaugurated the year's illuminations | Getty Images Photo: Fox Photos/Hulton Archive

