UK's coldest summer since 1993 - in pictures

Broadstairs, Kent: The Chambers family take shelter from the wind and rain as they picnic on the promenade above Viking Bay in August Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Europe

London: Tourists wearing green ponchos struggle in wet and windy conditions on Westminster Bridge in July Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Whitley Bay: Waves crash over the sea walls on north Tyneside Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

London: A police officer shelters from torrential rain in July at the Houses of Parliament Photograph: Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images

Blackpool: A beachcomber uses a metal detector user on a gloomy looking Blackpool Beach Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian.

London: Harry Potter fans await the premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – part 2, in Leicester Square Photograph: Tony Kyriacou/Rex Features

Weston-super-Mare: A family traverse a near-deserted beach on a wet, cloudy summer day Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Sandwich, Kent: Golf fans watch the action in heavy rain on the third day of the British Open at Royal St George Photograph: Peter Morrison/AP

Bournemouth, Dorset: Heavy rain caused flash flooding earlier in August Photograph: Tom Dymond/Rex Features

Wimbledon, London: A downpour brings mid-afternoon play to a halt on Day 8 of the All England Lawn Tennis Club championships in June Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian

Glastonbury, Somerset: Storm clouds gather over the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival site at Worthy Farm, Pilton, in June Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Brighton, Sussex: High winds and rain make this family's trip to the beach more of an endurance test than a treat
Photograph: Martin Argles/The Guardian

Ascot, Reading: Racegoers dressed in the finery arrive in the pouring rain on Ladies Day in June Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Tynemouth, Northumberland: A flooded section of the A1058 coastal road after heavy rain drenched the north-east and Northern Ireland in August Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

London: Thick fog and misty rain in August obscure the Houses of Parliament in Westminster Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images