TrackPostcode.UK

Rankings

Sunniest places to live in the UK

Ranked by annual sunshine hours for each area's own square kilometre, from Met Office gridded observations.

In short

The sunniest places to live in the UK are ranked here by annual sunshine hours from the Met Office HadUK-Grid 1 km climate grid, which run from roughly 1,100 to 1,750 hours a year. The current top three are Ashford (1,835 hrs/yr), Faversham (1,835 hrs/yr) and Folkestone (1,835 hrs/yr).

  • Annual sunshine hours, Met Office HadUK-Grid 1 km, multi-year average.
  • 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.

Compiled by the TrackPostcode.UK data team Data last updated How we score every area Data sources

Ashford1,835 hrs/yrFaversham1,835 hrs/yrFolkestone1,835 hrs/yrHerne Bay1,835 hrs/yrCanterbury1,835 hrs/yrDeal1,835 hrs/yrDover1,835 hrs/yrMargate1,835 hrs/yrRamsgate1,835 hrs/yrWhitstable1,835 hrs/yr
Sunniest places to live in the UK: the top ten, drawn from the same figures as the table below.
Top ten compared across the categories that most often change the answer
#AreaNationSunshineCost of livingSafetyWeatherBroadband
=1AshfordEngland1,835 hrs/yr56478977
=1FavershamEngland1,835 hrs/yr65568985
=1FolkestoneEngland1,835 hrs/yr60458978
=1Herne BayEngland1,835 hrs/yr54548975
=1CanterburyEngland1,835 hrs/yr54438975
=1DealEngland1,835 hrs/yr69588983
=1DoverEngland1,835 hrs/yr69478983
=1MargateEngland1,835 hrs/yr64448986
=1RamsgateEngland1,835 hrs/yr64498986
=1WhitstableEngland1,835 hrs/yr54608975

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.

Sunniest places to live in the UK: the full ranking

=1AshfordAshford, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1FavershamSwale, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1FolkestoneFolkestone and Hythe, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1Herne BayCanterbury, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1CanterburyCanterbury, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1DealDover, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1DoverDover, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1MargateThanet, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1RamsgateThanet, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1WhitstableCanterbury, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=11Burgess HillMid Sussex, South East, England1,815 hrs/yr=11Haywards HeathMid Sussex, South East, England1,815 hrs/yr=11NewhavenLewes, South East, England1,815 hrs/yr=11Bexhill-on-SeaRother, South East, England1,815 hrs/yr=11BrightonBrighton and Hove, South East, England1,815 hrs/yr=11EastbourneEastbourne, South East, England1,815 hrs/yr=11HastingsHastings, South East, England1,815 hrs/yr=11LewesLewes, South East, England1,815 hrs/yr=19WhitbyNorth Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber, England1,712 hrs/yr=19FileyNorth Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber, England1,712 hrs/yr=19RedcarRedcar and Cleveland, North East, England1,712 hrs/yr=19ScarboroughNorth Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber, England1,712 hrs/yr=23AylesburyBuckinghamshire, South East, England1,702 hrs/yr=23BanburyCherwell, South East, England1,702 hrs/yr=23BicesterCherwell, South East, England1,702 hrs/yr=23OxfordOxford, South East, England1,702 hrs/yr=23Abingdon-on-ThamesVale of White Horse, South East, England1,702 hrs/yr=23DidcotSouth Oxfordshire, South East, England1,702 hrs/yr=23WitneyWest Oxfordshire, South East, England1,702 hrs/yr=30Blandford ForumDorset, South West, England1,671 hrs/yr=30BournemouthBournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, South West, England1,671 hrs/yr=30EastleighEastleigh, South East, England1,671 hrs/yr=30FerndownDorset, South West, England1,671 hrs/yr=30PooleBournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, South West, England1,671 hrs/yr=30RomfordDorset, South West, England1,671 hrs/yr=30Wimborne MinsterDorset, South West, England1,671 hrs/yr=30ChristchurchBournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, South West, England1,671 hrs/yr=30RomseyTest Valley, South East, England1,671 hrs/yr=30SalisburyWiltshire, South West, England1,671 hrs/yr=30SouthamptonSouthampton, South East, England1,671 hrs/yr=41CaernarfonGwynedd, Wales1,615 hrs/yr=41HolyheadIsle of Anglesey, Wales1,615 hrs/yr=41BangorGwynedd, Wales1,615 hrs/yr=44BostonBoston, East Midlands, England1,565 hrs/yr=44GainsboroughWest Lindsey, East Midlands, England1,565 hrs/yr=44RetfordBassetlaw, East Midlands, England1,565 hrs/yr=44SleafordNorth Kesteven, East Midlands, England1,565 hrs/yr=44GranthamSouth Kesteven, East Midlands, England1,565 hrs/yr=44LincolnLincoln, East Midlands, England1,565 hrs/yr=44Newark-on-TrentNewark and Sherwood, East Midlands, England1,565 hrs/yr

Best in Scotland

=1ArbroathAngus, Scotland1,456 hrs/yr=1ForfarAngus, Scotland1,456 hrs/yr=1KirkcaldyFife, Scotland1,456 hrs/yr=1PerthPerth and Kinross, Scotland1,456 hrs/yr=1DundeeDundee City, Scotland1,456 hrs/yr=1St AndrewsFife, Scotland1,456 hrs/yr=7DumfriesDumfries and Galloway, Scotland1,095 hrs/yr=7HawickScottish Borders, Scotland1,095 hrs/yr9StornowayNa h-Eileanan Siar, Scotland1,058 hrs/yr10LerwickShetland Islands, Scotland1,045 hrs/yr

Best in England

=1AshfordAshford, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1FavershamSwale, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1FolkestoneFolkestone and Hythe, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1Herne BayCanterbury, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1CanterburyCanterbury, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1DealDover, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1DoverDover, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1MargateThanet, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1RamsgateThanet, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr=1WhitstableCanterbury, South East, England1,835 hrs/yr

Best in Wales

=1CaernarfonGwynedd, Wales1,615 hrs/yr=1HolyheadIsle of Anglesey, Wales1,615 hrs/yr=1BangorGwynedd, Wales1,615 hrs/yr=4AbergavennyMonmouthshire, Wales1,461 hrs/yr=4MonmouthMonmouthshire, Wales1,461 hrs/yr=4ChepstowMonmouthshire, Wales1,461 hrs/yr7CarmarthenCarmarthenshire, Wales1,403 hrs/yr8WrexhamWrexham, Wales1,354 hrs/yr

Ranked from 539 indexed areas by TrackPostcode.UK scores. Coverage grows as more areas are indexed.

About this ranking

How are the sunniest places found?

By ranking annual sunshine hours from the Met Office HadUK-Grid 1 km climate grid. UK locations typically range from about 1,100 to 1,750 hours a year. Right now the highest are Ashford (1,835 hrs/yr), Faversham (1,835 hrs/yr), Folkestone (1,835 hrs/yr).

Is the sunshine figure a forecast?

No, it is a multi-year average of recorded sunshine for the square kilometre, interpolated by the Met Office from its station network.

Does more sunshine mean a better climate overall?

Not on its own. The broader weather score also weighs rainfall, summer maximum and winter minimum temperatures, so a sunny but cold or wet area may score differently overall.

Every ranking

Best places to liveBest places for remote workersBest places for familiesBest places for studentsBest places for retirementBest places under £200,000Most affordable placesCheapest places to liveSafest placesBest weatherFastest broadbandCleanest airBest places for jobsBest transport linksMost to doBest healthcare access

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.

Read next: the best places to live in the UK, the most affordable places to live, the safest places to live, the relocation quiz and how every score is built.

What this ranking measures: Annual sunshine hours, Met Office HadUK-Grid 1 km, multi-year average. Read the full methodology before quoting a figure.

Primary source: Met Office. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.