EXCLUSIVE UK weather map reveals Britain's sunniest spots - has your town made the top 10?
The Isle of Wight is the sunniest place in the UK, according to Met Office data.
The cosy town of Shanklin that looks over the English Channel nabs just over 248 hours of sunshine, nearly seven hours more than Southend-on-Sea that comes in at second place.
Swanage came in at number 10, with Bournemouth not far behind with around 222 hours of sunlight a year.
All the top 10 sunniest spots sit along the south coast - in areas like Sussex, Dorset and Cornwall - thanks to its low-lying coastal fronts facing the balmier continent.
This area also sits in the rain shadow of the north and west's higher ground that helps limit rainfall and cloud cover.
The warm waters of the Gulf Stream also contribute to the sunnier disposition in the region, as well as elevation differences and winds sweeping through the country.
Ian Lisk, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, told No Deposit Rewards that this sun pattern is 'all to do with our old friend, the jet stream'.
He said: 'Weather typically moves across the UK from west to east, but the north-south amplification of the jet stream has enabled areas of high pressure to hang around in the vicinity of the UK.
'This means that our share of the more typical unsettled weather has been deflected away from us.'
Travelling further north is a sure-fire way to start dropping those hours of sunlight - Manchester had previously held the title of the most grey place in the UK.
Glasgow was hot on the northern city's heels, with Blackburn not far behind.
It was also revealed in March that there are only four countries in the world that receive less sun than the UK.
Combined England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland produce about 1,530 'annual sunshine hours' - which comes to about 4.19 hours per day.
Ireland, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Iceland and the Faroe Islands all catch fewer rays than the British Isles, with the Danish archipelago only getting 840 hours of sunshine a year.
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