Oh islands in the sun, for perfect weather Shetland is number one

IT IS said that Shetland has nine months of winter and three months of bad weather.

The islands are on latitude 60 degrees north – the same as Anchorage in Alaska and southern Greenland, and its weather is, well, unpredictable.

But today the islands' capital, Lerwick, is basking in the glory that comes with having an unexpected title bestowed upon it – the sunniest place in the UK.

At least it has been during August, according to weather experts MeteoGroup UK . It has reported 136 hours of sunshine in Lerwick in the first 25 days of this month,

much more than Wittering, in Cambridgeshire – the second sunniest location, which has seen 107 hours of sun so far this month.

Much of the rest of the country did not even reach 100 hours of sun during the same period.

John Hutchinson, a MeteoGroup forecaster, said: "Normally the low pressure moves to the north of Scotland but the lows have been further south than normal, so the worst of the weather has been across central areas of the UK.

"Lerwick has been above all the bad weather, so it has had sunny spells. Shetland really has been fizzing above the gloom and rain that has been affecting everywhere else."

Lerwick is the only place in the UK to have seen more sun than average so far this month. Eskdalemuir in Dumfries and Galloway has yet to reach 40 hours of sun, while many places have yet to see half their average August sunshine.

According to the Met Office, Lerwick enjoyed the second highest amount of sunshine, behind Shanklin on the Isle of Wight, but saw the biggest increase over its seasonal average.

The good weather has not gone unnoticed by locals and those visitors delighted to have made the journey to the islands.

Deborah Kerr, from VisitShetland, said: "August visitor numbers appear to be as good as any other year but Shetland, like a number of areas, has seen a reduction in visitors this year that is probably influenced by the credit crunch."

Paul Riddell, editor of the Shetland Times, said the tourists who visited this year have struck it lucky. He said: "It has been noticeably sunnier here. Even the days that have started a bit dull and breezy have brightened up and I have lost count of the number of long, sunny evenings.

"When I came back to live here in May after 15 years away I made sure my winter wear was at hand, even for summer. But it has been far too lovely for that."