Best summer of your life?

[NorthernLiner]

It's probably 1991 for me.

Cliche, but young, slim and fit 18 years old, living and working in London before starting university that September!

Live in the home counties now, but London will always have my heart ❤️

Mid 90s (94 I think) can’t recall the exact year but went clubbing a lot, to Ibiza and had the time of my life for a few years. It was also hot and sunny in London.

I can't remember which summer it was exactly but probably when I was 10 or so - we went on a long holiday to Finland and me and my brother ran wild all summer exploring forests, swimming in lakes, fishing, sauna, staying up well past midnight because you lost all track of time with the midnight sun. Bliss.

Also the summer between year 9 and 10, so 14 years old - I recently found my diary from that time period and I had so much fun hanging out with my friends, and also went on holiday to Holland and me and my brother explored everywhere on our bikes, we would be gone for hours and our parents had no idea where we were and it was brilliant.

1999. Met a lovely bloke who happened to be my friend's flatmate so spent most of my summer there (in beautiful Greenwich). Uni was finished, bloke worked in Education, friend was renting a room for the summer before going back to Cambridge so we had a summer of parks, BBQ's, late nights and lazy days. Plus lots of amazing sex 😂(with the bloke not my friend!)

2000. Met DP and it was probably the last hedonistic / carefree summer I had. It was before kids, houses, bills etc. Was the summer we fell in love and always has a special place in my heart. Again involved lots of partying, drinking, parks, dinners at fancy restaurants, weekends away.

Both summers were amazing weather wise but the main reason I enjoyed them so much was how carefree I was and how simple life and relationships were.

Good thread OP! I’ve thought long & hard & have decided it’s 1984. It seems quite a popular one! Good music plus it was sunny and warm. I handed in my notice as I was going to do VSO in the autumn and I had 2 training courses to do first. Met talented & interesting people whilst training, some of whom I then travelled to VSO country & became friendly with. Stayed in Bradford, tasted hot curries, went to the museum of photography, saw films on the IMAX screen. Met a guy from home (250 miles away) down the pub, taught some amazing children and learned how to do it better. The summer appeared endless as the weather in VSO country continued warm & sunny. After being there a few weeks, I met DH.

I was 17.
We had a heatwave.
I started learning to drive, went on holiday with my friends and just enjoyed being young.

Not many people have had favourite summer as adults other than low 20’s.

The summer I turned 18. I spent the break between A levels and university working in Tenerife as an au pair.

Also the year I was expecting my first child. He's a September baby, so the summer was spent on maternity leave making plans and shopping for baby things.

Well me at 24 onwards for a few years. No mortgage, I had an inheritance (I saved some of it) and I was having fun which I hadn’t had for a long time. I was now the most popular glamourous clubbing girl, on guest lists with free drinks at the trendiest clubs in London. Had been a bit of an ugly duckling as a child til I was 13. But I really came into myself at 24. Confidence was through the roof. Got a killer tan, could wear what I liked and daytime was working but picnic lunches in the park with Orange Bacardi breezers, my best friend had a spliff instead (😳🤣), Portobello Road for market for clothes on Saturdays and lunches out. Absolute heaven. Lots of free summer festivals.

The summer between college and uni. Worked in a factory and earned £100 per week, could go out buy clothes,had lots of dates,music was great and starting which was one long 🥳 party.

1976 for me. I was young slim, newly married and we had an amazing holiday at Wells Next The Sea. I had an amazing tan, as we didn’t know back then how stupid it was to get sun tanned.

Thanks for this thread, OP! Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I don't stop waxing lyrical about the summer of 1994.

I had just turned 15. It was my coming of age year - where I actually felt like I was growing up. I met my first love who became my first boyfriend that summer. That first summer of a long-distance, heady romance where we communicated by writing love letters was magical. He was definitely the one that got away.

I grew up by the coast and it was fabulous: people were happy, there was a hopefulness in the air; the music was great - Saturday Night by Whigfield, I Swear by All4One, Love is All Around by Wet Wet Wet, Baby I Love Your Way by Blue Mountain. I was recording all these off the radio if I couldn't find them in Woolworths! I was going to the cinema with my friends to see Four Weddings And Funeral and My Girl 2.

I can't describe that carefree and idyllic summer in words. Please, somebody, build me a time machine so I can go back to the summer of 1994!

So mid 20’s.

1990, end of second year at university, went out to Corfu with two friends and we got jobs in a local bar/restaurant for the summer. The bar closed about 11pm and we went out clubbing nearly every night straight from work. Lots of dancing and snogging dodgy blokes who were out there on holiday.

1997 for me backpacking round south east asia with my bestie had a dreamy few weeks of holiday romance with an Italian guy which carried on after I returned to uk . Just back in touch with him after 28 years and he feels the same fabulous memories and one of his best holidays .

I can’t think of one specific one, but summers growing up the in the eighties and early nineties. Carefree, playing outside for endless hours, coming home grubby after the sun went down. I think 86-88 were particularly good weather wise? I have particular warm memories of caravan holidays in the UK with family that no holiday abroad has ever been able to replicate.
I had one particularly loved up summer in 1995 when I was 15…….a bit of a time of discovery let’s just say 😊

The summer I graduated uni in 2001 was also pretty unforgettable. It felt endless, annd life felt full of promise and i had my first abroad holiday with friends.

These days summers are a juggling act of work and childcare and pretty much having to figure it all out myself.

Do you know what that made me think, I absolutely love being a wife and mum and I have so many happy summer holiday memories with them that I am thankful for, but those summer holidays when you were young just hit different, I can't put my finger on it.

It’s an interesting thread.

I am quite surprised by how many people have similar experience of their teens or early twenties being their favourite summers.

1976 and 1977 for me. Amazing weather, young gorgeous and everything felt so exciting . I went youth hostelling two years in a row and the world felt like it was opening up.

1990 was good but 1994 was the best. 95 and 96 were also pretty good. And 2006. All for very different reasons.

My first gut response to the thread title was "1985... obviously"

which kind of surprised me

I'd just done my O-levels (mostly fine, though highlighted the main issues) and went on tour with the county orchestra to Berlin, which was fab

Had too much time on my hands and used it by slightly obsessing over a cute boy who had no interest in me, which sort of in hindsight totally spoilt the next two/three years

But I think the important thing is that for the first time I was actually AWAKE and thinking of what I wanted and what I needed to do, even if I got it wrong