Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

If you love the sun, how do you cope if you live in a Scotland? Or north England?!

239 replies

Bertieboo82 · 10/07/2022 15:55

I am a soft southerner. Born just outside of London and other than when working abroad for long stretches, I have always remained in SE. So used to mild winters and generally always good summers, sometimes long stretches of beautiful hot sun and long days. Good job too that I love the sun!

my brother is going up to Inverness next weekend on a stag weekend. Forecast is 17/18 degrees and cloudy. Whereas forecast for where I live for next weekend is sun all day and 29/32!!

my sister will be in Newcastle up on Tyne - 20/21 and patchy sun

I know this will suit many but those who love the sun and warmth… how do you fare if live up north?!

OP posts:
Purplemoons2827 · 17/09/2022 08:16

GorgeousLadyofWrestling · 17/09/2022 08:05

I grew up in Blackpool and moved down to London at 17. Obviously it’s not warmer in Blackpool than London but what did take adjustment was that the winters in Blackpool would regularly have beautiful big blue skies with freezing temps, so it would be incredibly sunny but also frosty. Absolutely beautiful. In London, my first winter felt like I was living under a low ceiling of constant rain.

So not warmer but the lack of winter sunshine in the south got to me.

We have lots of winter sunshine where I am in the south! This shows ‘sunshine hours’ in the winter, all the sunniest places are in the south.www.nationalworld.com/news/uk/here-are-the-happiest-places-to-live-in-the-uk-according-to-the-amount-of-sunlight-3531436?amp

caoraich · 17/09/2022 08:19

I'm in the NW of Scotland and am from NE Scotland. It's much rainier here and that's what annoys me. I'm happy to be in a t shirt once the temp is double figures but I hate the hot anorak situation in warmish rain! As long as it isn't raining I'm happy to be outdoors to eat/exercise whatever.

I like having proper seasons - weeks of snow in winter and long light nights in summer. Especially when I worked night shifts that made life so much easier. I was once in London for work in mid June and was genuinely amazed how early it got dark, I just hadn't thought about it.

I like hot weather holidays in places that are set up for it - swimming pool to jump in and air con to hide from the heat! But I just find hot weather in the UK sticky and miserable.

GorgeousLadyofWrestling · 17/09/2022 08:41

Purplemoons2827 · 17/09/2022 08:16

We have lots of winter sunshine where I am in the south! This shows ‘sunshine hours’ in the winter, all the sunniest places are in the south.www.nationalworld.com/news/uk/here-are-the-happiest-places-to-live-in-the-uk-according-to-the-amount-of-sunlight-3531436?amp

Show quote history

I’ve lived in London for nearly 25 years now - longer than I lived in Blackpool - so yeah, obviously I have experienced sunny winters down south. I was just saying that was my first experience of a southern winter - perhaps it was a particularly grey and wet winter that year but it made me so depressed.

However there is just something about a very sunny, very cold northern day 🥰

JaninaDuszejko · 17/09/2022 13:51

I'm confused about Sevenoas in that article, why is somewhere so south and east so short of sunshine in the winter? Where does the data come from?

Doingprettywellthanks · 17/09/2022 14:20

Chichester - 232 sunlight hours in winter
Hastings - 227
St Helens - 227
Eastbourne - 222
Southend-on-Sea - 216
Poole - 216
Brighton - 215
Ipswich - 214
Peterborough - 214
Bournemouth - 212

Here are the least sunniest places to live

Bradford - 110 sunlight hours in winter
Barnsley - 110
Rochdale - 125
Glasgow - 137
Paisley - 140
Belfast - 141
York - 145
Gateshead - 146
Preston -147
Sevenoaks - 154

Doingprettywellthanks · 17/09/2022 14:22

I always knew that sunnier down here bit the difference is striking!!

Doingprettywellthanks · 17/09/2022 14:22

The study found that the South East is the sunniest region in the UK, with 8 cities and towns from that region getting the most hours of natural sunlight.

Yorkshire and the East and West Midlands are the least sunniest regions in the UK, as only 1 place from each region makes it into the list.

Doingprettywellthanks · 17/09/2022 14:26

KatharineofAragon · 16/07/2022 22:10

I moved back to Scotland after years down South. I find the weather absolutely miserable here. It’s never actually hot and the wind is incessant. So even if it is ‘warm’ the wind means you have to wear a coat. I hate it.

The Scottish Highlands consistently record the lowest annual sunshine hours in the UK, as anyone who has spent any significant time in them will likely attest to. In fact, Cape Wrath holds the record for the minimum amount of sunshine recorded in a calender month, seeing just 36 minutes in January 1983.

36 mins for an entire month. I’d have topped myself!

Violinist64 · 17/09/2022 15:13

I see that St. Helens makes the list - from the North West. It is obviously a sunny Northern outlier.

JudgeRindersMinder · 17/09/2022 16:23

I’m currently coping in Spain, on my 3rd holiday in the sun since May, with another to come before the end of the year 😎

BarkylLoner · 17/09/2022 17:12

The Scottish Highlands consistently record the lowest annual sunshine hours in the UK, as anyone who has spent any significant time in them will likely attest to. In fact, Cape Wrath holds the record for the minimum amount of sunshine recorded in a calender month, seeing just 36 minutes in January 1983.

How many people actually live in Cape Wrath???
The far north of Scotland is VERY sparsely populated

MelodyPondsMum · 17/09/2022 17:37

Glasgow and York are both amazing cities. It wouldn't be fair if they had lots of sunshine too.
As for some of the sunny places, sunshine is their only draw. 😄

Delatron · 19/09/2022 11:34

I used to live about 10 miles from Bradford - I left when I was 18, mainly because of the weather. It doesn’t surprise me it tops the list for the least amount of sun!

New posts on this thread. Refresh page