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Unseasonal: A beachgoer is forced to pull out an umbrella at Herne Bay, Kent, last week. The unsettled weather is set to continue across the country
The month that brought us a hosepipe ban, melting tarmac, health warnings about too much sun and a lot of very sunburnt bodies was also the wettest on record.
Despite a heatwave and the hottest temperature in decades, England suffered the wettest July ever recorded - and there is more to come forecasters have recorded.
According to provisional statistics from the Met Office, the UK was 46 per cent wetter than average and parts of the country also faced devastating floods.
Yet at the same time, the south east of the country was basking in temperatures well into the twenties as thousands of southerners took to parks, beaches and gardens to enjoy the heatwave.
But Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland had 50 per cent more rain than usual in July.
The wettest place was Capel Curig in Wales where 340mm of rain fell in just one month.
But in the south of the country it was a completely different story.
Overall the south east had just 27mm of rain - only 40 per cent of the average expected for the month - and some places saw only 5mm, less than 20 per cent of the normal average.
It followed June conditions which were the driest since 1995 and led to low rivers and reservoirs, parched soils and increased water demand as well as a ban on hosepipes in some places that continued into July.
But weather forecasters say the dry spell in the south east is about to end.
