Rankings
Places with the best weather in the UK
One outdoor score from four measurements: sunshine, rainfall, summer warmth and winter mildness.
In short
The best weather in the UK is ranked here on a combined outdoor score from annual sunshine hours, rainfall, summer maximum and winter minimum temperatures. The current top three are Ashford (89), Burgess Hill (89) and Faversham (89).
- Weather category: sunshine 35 per cent, rainfall 30 per cent, summer warmth 20 per cent, winter mildness 15 per cent.
- Ranked from 539 indexed UK areas, rebuilt daily from the latest published figures.
- Every area links to a full report with the source behind each figure.
| # | Area | Nation | Score | Cost of living | Safety | Weather | Broadband |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Ashford | England | 89 | 56 | 47 | 89 | 77 |
| =1 | Burgess Hill | England | 89 | 46 | 56 | 89 | 87 |
| =1 | Faversham | England | 89 | 65 | 56 | 89 | 85 |
| =1 | Folkestone | England | 89 | 60 | 45 | 89 | 78 |
| =1 | Haywards Heath | England | 89 | 46 | 59 | 89 | 87 |
| =1 | Herne Bay | England | 89 | 54 | 54 | 89 | 75 |
| =1 | Newhaven | England | 89 | 52 | 56 | 89 | 80 |
| =1 | Bexhill-on-Sea | England | 89 | 61 | 54 | 89 | 79 |
| =1 | Brighton | England | 89 | 23 | 30 | 89 | 88 |
| =1 | Canterbury | England | 89 | 54 | 43 | 89 | 75 |
Category scores are 0 to 100 and a dash means that dataset has not loaded for the area yet, in which case it is excluded from the overall score rather than guessed at. Open any area for the full report and its sources.
Places with the best weather in the UK: the full ranking
Areas are ranked on whatever categories they have, with the weights renormalised over them, so an area with a gap is scored on its own remaining evidence. Show only areas measured on all twelve categories to compare like with like.
Best in Scotland
Best in England
Best in Wales
Ranked from 539 indexed areas by TrackPostcode.UK scores. Coverage grows as more areas are indexed.
About this ranking
How is the weather score worked out?
From the Met Office HadUK-Grid 1 km climate grid for the exact square kilometre, averaged over the last six complete years: annual sunshine hours at 35 per cent of the score, rainfall at 30 per cent, typical summer maximum temperature at 20 per cent and winter minimum at 15 per cent, combined into an outdoor-suitability score. Right now the highest are Ashford (89/100), Burgess Hill (89/100), Faversham (89/100).
Is this a forecast?
No. These are multi-year climate averages describing what the area is typically like, not a prediction for any particular day.
Why do two nearby places have different weather figures?
Each report reads the 1 km square it was built for, so height and distance from the coast show through: a hilltop village and the town below it can differ noticeably on rainfall and winter temperature.
Every ranking
The same index ordered by a different measurement each time, from the same twelve category scores and rebuilt daily. Each one states on its own page what it measures and what it does not.
What this ranking measures: Weather category: sunshine 35 per cent, rainfall 30 per cent, summer warmth 20 per cent, winter mildness 15 per cent. Read the full methodology before quoting a figure.
Primary source: Met Office. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.