Sun-seekers of the capital city, I come bearing some news that may well brighten up your day. Despite the weather in the UK being notoriously miserable, it turns out that London is, in fact, both hotter and sunnier than most other places in the country. And look, if ever there was a time to believe that’s true – it’s now. The temperature in London soaring into the thirties has truly got me forgetting what it feels like to be in a room that doesn’t resemble the climate of an oven. But anyway, that’s beside the point.
The lovely lot over at Trtl Travel have taken it upon themselves to uncover the hottest and sunniest spots in the country. Using data from the Met Office UK Climate Averages, they’ve ranked and revealed where to head to in the UK if you’re in need of a little sunshine but neither your bank balance or annual leave allowance can afford you a holiday abroad.
The study analysed various metrics including the average annual hours of sunshine, the average temperature and the average rainfall in each city. They used data from weather stations used for local forecast to ensure they uncovered the most representative, long-term patterns possible.
London was found to have an average of 129.95 annual sunshine hours, making it the third sunniest city in the country, only being – quite literally – outshone by Bristol (138.19 hours of annual sunshine) and Cardiff (131.08 hours of annual sunshine). London also came up trumps in the heat department. The capital city has an average temperature of 14.64°C, making it the second hottest city in the country. London was only marginally pipped to the post by Cardiff, where there’s an average temperature of 14.92°C.
Quite possibly the most shocking finding of all is that London didn’t make an appearance on the list of the rainiest cities in the UK. Who’d have thought it? Maybe it’s about time we Londoners stopped complaining about the weather, after all…
The sunniest cities in the UK
- Bristol
- Cardiff
- London
- Birmingham
- Sheffield
The hottest cities in the UK
- Cardiff
- London
- Bristol
- Nottingham
- Leicester
You can have a read of Trtl Travel’s full findings here.