Golden hour in Belfast in January

Belfast lies at 54.60° N, in the upper mid-latitudes, with long, slanted evening light in summer. Its longest measured day falls on Fri 19 June 2026 with 17h 17m of daylight, and its shortest on Sat 19 December 2026 with 7h 15m — a difference of 10h 02m between the two extremes.

Evening golden hour in Belfast runs for roughly 61 minutes at the height of summer, 47 minutes around the March equinox and 72 minutes at midwinter. The warm window is actually widest in the colder months, which makes winter evenings unusually forgiving here.

The sun sets toward 315° NW in late June and toward 228° SW in late December, a shift of about 87° in where the last light lands — worth checking before committing to a west-facing viewpoint. In Belfast, around midsummer the sky never reaches full darkness — evening blue hour runs into morning twilight.