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The UK's sunniest (and best) destinations for summer
Sunshine is never guaranteed on a British summer holiday, but we’ve found the places where you’re most likely to catch some rays.
If you’re planning a bucket-and-spade break, consider Tenby in south-west Wales. Visitors gave its beaches top marks in our seaside towns survey, and it gets an average of seven hours of sunshine a day in June,.
Looking for a cultural city break? Cambridge is one of England’s sunniest cities and topped the table in our UK cities survey.
Read on to discover our pick of the UK’s sunniest destinations – they all have high levels of sunshine in June and come highly recommended by visitors.
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1. Isle of Wight
Average peak temperature in June: 19°C
Bright sunshine per day in June: 7.4 hours
Closer to London than Cornwall, the Isle of Wight has 57 miles of coastline, chocolate box villages, atmospheric ruins and fantastic walks. Around half of the island is designated an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), including the rugged chalk cliffs and sandy bays of the Tennyson Heritage Coast – named after Victorian poet Alfred Tennyson, who lived in the village of Freshwater Bay.
One of the sunniest spots is Ventnor, a Victorian seaside resort on the Isle of Wight’s sheltered southeast coast. Ventnor scored four out of five stars for value for money as well as its beaches, scenery and food in our survey of the UK’s best and worst seaside towns. Don’t miss Ventnor Botanic Garden, which claims to be ‘Britain’s hottest garden’.
Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in Isle of Wight.
Booking.com is the top-rated hotel-booking site in our survey and received five stars for its flexibility. Most bookings can be cancelled at short notice without penalty. The only way to be sure you've found the best rate is to call or email the hotel directly.
2. St Davids
Average peak temperature in June: 17°C
Bright sunshine per day in June: 7.2 hours
St Davids is the UK’s smallest city and the sunniest town in Wales. It also ranked very highly in our survey of the best UK city breaks. Visitors were especially impressed by its cultural sights: a mighty medieval cathedral and the ruins of a lavish Bishop’s Palace.
Perched on a windswept peninsula in Wales’s far west, St Davids is a 15-minute walk from the Pembrokeshire coastline, where golden beaches and secluded coves await.
Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in St Davids.
3. Tenby
Average peak temperature in June: 17°C
Bright sunshine per day in June: 7 hours
This medieval town in south-west Wales – a maze of cobbled streets – has a ruined Norman castle and a walled harbour overlooked by brightly painted houses. At low tide, you can walk across Castle Beach to little Saint Catherine’s island with its Victorian fort.
Visitors gave Tenby’s three sandy beaches full marks in our seaside towns survey, while its scenery and tourist attractions clinched four stars. There are fantastic walks too – you can strike out along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path to Saundersfoot.
Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in Tenby.
4. Southwold
Average peak temperature in June: 18°C
Bright sunshine per day in June: 7 hours
With its pastel beach huts and Edwardian pier, Southwold is East Anglia’s top-rated seaside town in our survey. Visitors raved about its seafront and pier, which houses an eccentric arcade of homemade slot machines designed by a local engineer.
You can take tours of Southwold’s stout 19th-century lighthouse and the Adnams brewery, which has been here since 1876.
Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in Southwold.
The UK’s best and worst seaside towns
5. Scilly Isles
Average peak temperature in June: 17°C
Bright sunshine per day in June: 6.9 hours
This archipelago off the tip of Cornwall enjoys some of the mildest temperatures in the UK. When we asked more than 5,000 visitors to rate the UK’s areas of outstanding natural beauty, the Scillies topped the table, clinching a full five-star rating for its scenery, walks and wildlife – ranging from puffins to grey Atlantic seals.
The Scillies aren’t the easiest place to reach, but it’s well worth the effort. The biggest island, St Mary’s, has an olde worlde capital and powder-soft beaches lapped by glassy seas. Ferries shuttle between the five inhabited islands, where you can explore Tudor ruins, a subtropical 17-acre garden and wild beaches.
Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in Southwold.
The UK's best Areas of Natural Beauty and scenic areas – as rated by visitors
6. Cambridge
Average peak temperature in June: 20°C
Bright sunshine per day in June: 6.8 hours
This is one of the UK’s sunniest cities, and summer is a great time to explore its historic college buildings (with their manicured lawns) and punt along the River Cam.
Cambridge was one of the best UK cities for a short break in our survey. Visitors were wowed by its cultural sights, which include iconic King’s College Chapel, with its glittering stained-glass windows.
The food and drink also impressed. Head to Mill Road for a choice of restaurants serving up dishes from all corners of the globe.
Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in Cambridge.
7. Gower Peninsula
Average peak temperature in June: 17°C
Bright sunshine per day in June: 6.7 hours
This remote corner of Wales’s wild west has 19 miles of sandy beaches and little else. The Gower was the first place in the UK to be designated an AONB – and was the top-rated Welsh area in our survey. Visitors loved its scenery, walks and wildlife.
On sunny weekends, families flock to Rhossili’s three-mile beach, but it’s easy to escape the crowds on a cliff-top stroll along the Gower Coastal Path or through the marshes of Oxwich Bay. Dune-backed Broughton Bay is another secluded spot, only accessible on foot. Just bear in mind that the sea is still a biting 14°C in June – it’s warmest in August and September.
Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in Gower Peninsula.
8. Windsor
Average peak temperature in June: 20°C
Bright sunshine per day in June: 6.7 hours
Many people visit Windsor to admire its huge castle’s lavish state rooms and priceless paintings. Founded by William the Conqueror in the 11th century, it’s the oldest occupied castle in the world.
Unsurprisingly, visitors were most impressed by Windsor’s cultural sights in our UK cities survey. But there’s more to this historic town than its mighty castle. You can meander through the Great Park’s ancient woodland, picnic by the river in Alexander Gardens and take a boat trip down the Thames.
An easy day trip from London, Windsor also boasts the UK’s most-visited theme park, Legoland – book in advance if you’re planning to visit.
Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in Windsor.
9. North Berwick
Average peak temperature in June: 17°C
Bright sunshine per day in June: 6.2 hours
Scotland isn’t known for its wall-to-wall sunshine, but you stand a decent chance of catching some rays in North Berwick. A half-hour train ride from Edinburgh, it’s one of the sunniest spots on Scotland’s east coast in summer, and scored four stars for its beaches, food and drink, tourist attractions and scenery in our survey.
North Berwick is home to the Scottish Seabird Centre, which arranges boat tours to the Firth of Forth’s puffin, gannet, gull and shag-rich isles in summer. Back in town, the high street is stuffed with independent shops, traditional tearooms and upmarket delis.
Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in North Berwick.
10. Strangford Lough
Average peak temperature in June: 17°C
Bright sunshine per day in June: 6 hours
Just a 20-minute drive from Belfast, Strangford Lough is the UK’s largest sea lough. Downpatrick, near the lough’s southern tip, clocks up six hours of sunshine a day in June on average – more than Belfast and Northern Ireland’s other AONBs.
Studded with islets, the lough is a marine reserve where you can spot seals and seabirds galore – visitors gave it five stars for wildlife-spotting in our survey.
You can drive along the banks, hopping on a ferry to cross the opening at Portaferry. Stop off at Mount Stewart – a National Trust house and garden on the east shore – or for a scenic coastal ramble. Refuel in friendly cafes and restaurants serving local produce (also scoring five stars).
Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in Strangford Lough.
Data from weather2travel.com.
