Great Western Coffee Shop

http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/compensation-snowed-Kemble-June-claim-Great/story-27466332-detail/story.html

I seem to recall it snowing in either late May or early June in the drought year 1976. We were on the way to the Midlands to pick up a hire boat on the canals. There was a small flurry around Banbury.

It then went on to be scorcher.

yup - my memory agrees

You are right on both counts. At the time I was living in the family home just south of Banbury and my sister got married in mid July and we were a little concerned by the snow :)

We had a marquee in the garden for the wedding and the grass everywhere was brown due to the lack of rain it did rain one day leaving a green rectangle outline where the rain had fallen down the sides of the marquee

That was certainly a hot summer!

Yes, the one day it rained during the long, hot summer of '76 was the Saturday of the Lords Test against the West Indies. Me and my brother travelled up from Exeter just to see the covers on the wickets and umbrellas in the stands!  :'(  :(

The snow in June was in 1975 - itself a good summer later on but completely overshadowed by 1976.

The snowfall on 2nd June 1975 was the latest snow since around the late 19th century. Cricket games were interrupted by snow in diverse places such as Buxton and Colchester. The midday temperature was typically 2C.

A week or so later the highest June temperature was recorded in Scotland, only superseded this year.

But did it close any railway lines?

Can't find any reports quickly. But there were talks going on that day to avert a rail strike over a 27% wage increase.

Thanks for the correction didcotdean I knew ir was followed by a pretty hot summer. There were already restrictions on teh flights of locks around Birmingham.

Was that because they had dried up, or were full of icebergs?  ;) :D ;D