How A Summer House Makes a Bad Summer Good

After all the talk of opening up after lockdown and enjoying a great British summer will have brought plenty of excitement in the last few months, but as May continues to be a damp squib, a thought dawns: For all the talk of variants and third waves, might not the biggest threat to a great summer be the weather?

It will certainly come as a huge disappointment if the summer is wet, as it always is anyway. Not only will it make returning to outdoor events and sport a let-down, but it will also spoil those long-planned reunions with friends and family in the back garden. Dreams of sitting in the sun, enjoying a nice drink and sharing good company could be replaced with downpours and chills.

The question is, what can be done about it? The Daily Mail has suggested this year’s must-have accessory is a pod - a transparent igloo-shaped cover that can keep out the wind and rain and ensure a nice warm, dry environment in the middle of the back lawn, even if the rest of it is soaking wet.

While this may seem attractive, however, it begs the question: Why not go the whole hog? The great thing about garden summer houses is they can offer much more: They provide something more robust that can handle any weather, they are more spacious, soft furniture can be kept in them and, with a bit of insulation, the summer house could also be enjoyed at other teams of year.

Besides all that, as the Mail article notes, some of the fancier pods cost as much as £24,000, so it’s hardly a cost saving.

Furthermore, one should not overlook another possibility: that the bad weather may be confined to May and summer might actually turn out to be hot and sunny.

Indeed, with three of the four hottest UK summers on record happening in the 21st century, it may be the shaded parts of the summer house are just as valuable as those letting in the heat.