Can you post a photo of the timer ? There are many types and the correct action will vary.

I'd not endorse a return to florry lights now, though maybe hold out on changing any more for the moment. In time the spare tubes will get very hard to obtain, and the fitting will need changing eventually anyway.

Watt for watt leds are a lot brighter, and in the cheaper ones the colour rendering can be a bit odd, so you find that you can be both dazzled and yet unable to see fine detail in coloured objects at the same time.

Looking at diffuser (or reflector) to throw the light around a bit may be an effective option, being point sources, strips of LEDs can give a sort of hard shadow 'soot and white' wash look to things.

There are literally hundreds of designs to choose from, and it is worth looking at the data in terms of radiation patterns and shapes , and ideally looking at samples of the fittings prior to splashing out. It reads rather as if that horse has somewhat bolted in your case.
Some light fittings can have a diffuser retrofitted, but that is a conversation to have  with the suppliers.

Mike.

Can you post a photo of the timer ? There are many types and the correct action will vary.

I'd not endorse a return to florry lights now, though maybe hold out on changing any more for the moment. In time the spare tubes will get very hard to obtain, and the fitting will need changing eventually anyway.

Watt for watt leds are a lot brighter, and in the cheaper ones the colour rendering can be a bit odd, so you find that you can be both dazzled and yet unable to see fine detail in coloured objects at the same time.

Looking at diffuser (or reflector) to throw the light around a bit may be an effective option, being point sources, strips of LEDs can give a sort of hard shadow 'soot and white' wash look to things.

There are literally hundreds of designs to choose from, and it is worth looking at the data in terms of radiation patterns and shapes , and ideally looking at samples of the fittings prior to splashing out. It reads rather as if that horse has somewhat bolted in your case.
Some light fittings can have a diffuser retrofitted, but that is a conversation to have  with the suppliers.

Mike.

Thanks for the very helpful reply that I received today. I have now attached two photos of the timer.

I can't see the pictures I'm afraid, but from what you said, I wonder if it's one of the old self adjusting timeclocks that mechanically adjusted the 'on times' according to the time of year (I recall them being used in street light when I was very young, before the advent of photocells). Proper works of art in brass they were. If so it sounds very much like someone's been messing with it and has just last left it set at the wrong time of year - if so it should be a simple matter to correct it.

   - Andy.

that great-many thanks Andy, really appreciate it

If it is an Astronomical time clock (the type Andy describes that automatically adjusts the ON  & OFF times to track sunrise & sunset) its worth pointing out that these need to be set for GMT and should not be changed to BST in the spring. The mechanism automatically compensates for the lengthening & shortening of the day.