iviehoff wrote:I went to school in the dark in the winter even though I lived in the SE and we had clock changes.
What time did your school start? Sunrise is no later than 0811 here in King's Lynn, about 100 miles north of London, which I think is as far north as anyone would reasonably call "south east" so most places further south have longer days in winter, and I think schools start 0855, so unless you're more than 7 miles from school, you're travelling in daylight, albeit dull sometimes.
I grew up in the midlands countryside, going to a secondary school with a lopsided catchment (close to a county border) and 7 miles was the furthest village it served. The map says I lived 3 miles away and from memory, I left home by 0830, or 0820 if I was calling in at a friend's house on the way. I remember having to ride home in the dark for a few weeks either side of Christmas when it got dark before 4pm, but not ride in in the dark unless I wanted to be there early for some reason (stowing things in my locker before classes or so on).