Sunny Eastbourne! Top of the Sunshine League 2011
Eastbourne has topped the sunshine league for another year confirming its status as the sunniest place in the UK with the highest number of sunshine hours for 2011 according to a leading weather expert.
Philip Eden is a renowned meteorologist and has written for the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph as well as managing his own websites weather-uk.com and climate-uk.com, and has confirmed that Eastbourne recorded a huge 1962 hours of sunshine during 2011, significantly ahead of rival sunny destinations Jersey and Guernsey.
Over the past 12 months Eastbourne has recorded an average 5 hours 23 minutes per day with a fantastic 273.9 hours of sunshine in April 2011, almost 100 hours more than the long term average.
Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism and Leisure Cllr Neil Stanley said “We are absolutely delighted to hear that we are yet again the sunniest place in the UK with our unique microclimate bringing us more hours of sunshine than anywhere else in the country. Eastbourne is lucky to be protected by Beachy Head and the South Downs and while sunshine has long been synonymous with Eastbourne, it’s always exciting to hear that we really are the sunshine coast!”
The south coast destination had an exceptionally warm year during 2011 too with the highest overall average temperature on record. The average temperature recorded in Eastbourne last year was 12.3°C, compared to 10.5°C, which is thought to be the highest annual average on record.
The town boasts a history of record-breaking sunshine statistics making it a popular holiday destination attracting over 4.9 million visitors a year and according to the CSMA, the second fastest growing seaside resort in the UK with an 11% increase in tourism-related business.
With a packed calendar of events coming up in 2012, including special celebrations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic Games, and a sunny start to the year already, Eastbourne is looking forward to an exciting year ahead.
For more information or to order a copy of the Guide or view the e-brochure, go to www.visiteastbourne.com or call 0871 663 0031.
