Top 10 British Summer Traditions

Some of the things that make it a Great British Summer, whatever the weather

1. Wimbledon

For two weeks of every year, we all become tennis-obsessed and cling to the hope that a British player might actually win something one day... Luckily a new star appeared this year - 14-year-old Laura Robson who won the Girls' Singles Championship.

2. Morris Dancing

We can't deny that it makes us laugh - grown men dancing around with ribbons and bells - but it's a very British tradition and we wouldn't want to see it die, no matter how silly it is!

3. Punting on the River

With the annual Oxford/Cambridge university boat race kicking things off in March, summertime sees us all punting down the river - or, at least, wishing we were!

4. Village Fetes

From the coconut shies, to the 'dog with the waggiest tail' competition, to the raffles, to the homemade cake stall - village and school fetes are a staple of the traditional British summer.

5. Barbeques

BBQs seem to be on the verge of becoming more popular here than in Australia - just like Neighbours! But of course, most barbeques in the UK often involve that other great British summer tradition - Pimms.

6. Maypole Dancing

Heralding the start of the warmer season, seeing kids (and sometimes adults) maypole dance says 'summer's coming' like nothing else.

7. The Ice Cream Man

Go on - deny it - the sound of the ice cream man's chime is just as instantly exciting now as it was when you were little.

8. Picnicking

Very much a British pastime, picnicking is one thing that we Brits do better than everyone else. Pork pies, cheese and pickle sarnies, thermos flasks of tea or maybe a bottle of wine - perfect.

9. Summer Solstice

Every year people gather at Stonehenge in Wiltshire to celebrate the longest day of the year - traditionally a Pagan celebration of the strength of the sun.

10. Pick Your Own Strawberries

Before you know it, you've returned home with £10 worth of strawberries and a crippling stomach ache from eating more than you picked..