Strong numbers: Butterflies will have hibernated well during the cold winter, which means they will be out in force next year has been disappointing for staycationers and somewhat slippery for Christmas shoppers.
But while this year's weather wasn't great for we humans, there have been mixed blessings for the country's wildlife.
Butterflies and some other types of insect saw their numbers soar, but cuckoos, daddy longlegs, bats and beetles fared less well.
Although the wet summers of 2007 and last year, coupled with mild winters, disturbed the natural hibernation and breeding cycles of several plants and animals, this year's dry summer helped repair a lot of the damage.
Matthew Oates, of the National Trust, said that while the UK did not bask in the 'barbecue summer' promised by the Met Office, the weather was better than the previous two years.
A third 'rotten' summer would have done serious damage to even more species, he added.
Purple emperor butterflies are among the species to have benefited from the coldest weather for years, allowing them to hibernate as caterpillars to emerge strongly in the summer.
Gone: Cuckoos have disappeared altogether from some areas as a result of recent weather patternsPainted lady butterflies were also seen migrating in their millions and it was a good year for seven spot ladybirds.
'Many insects managed to hibernate properly, instead of being constantly woken up by unseasonably mild days,' said Mr Oates.
'This year has stopped the rot and a lot of wildlife has started to get its way back up the ladder - but we still need a good summer in 2010.' But despite this it has not all been good news for British wildlife.
Along with other birds, choughs in Cornwall and Pembrokeshire struggled to feed in the face of frozen ground in February and Dartford warblers also suffered.
The number of cuckoos has also fallen sharply in the past 12 months, with the bird disappearing from some areas altogether.
Mr Oates said the fall could be down to a variety of reasons including a lack of their favourite food, hairy caterpillars, which in turn have been affected by the poor weather. Earlier this year, the cuckoo was added to the 'Red List' of the UK's most threatened birds.
Only between 10,000 and 20,000 breeding pairs now migrate from Africa each year.
And scientists are also trying to pinpoint why the daddy longlegs - or common cranefly - has gone missing.
What is clear, however, is that its disappearance is likely to have a huge effect on bat numbers because they rely on the insect for food.
source: dailymail
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