WHERE a staycation is concerned, it is impossible to predict the Great British weather.
However, hotel booking platform hoo has done its research and revealed the seaside towns that offer the best chance of a summer staycation without the need to pack an umbrella.
Hoo analysed rainfall across 51 major seaside towns and found that 90 per cent of them come in below the national average.
Colwyn Bay and Rhyl both make the list with an annual rainfall of 814mm (On average across England and Wales, 938 millimetres of rain falls in a year).
The best bet for a rain-free staycation is Essex, home to the top three seaside towns with the lowest levels of rain per year. Southend-on-Sea ranks top with an average of just 515mm, with Clacton-on-Sea (549mm) and nearby Felixstowe (561mm) also offering the best chance of staying dry this summer.
Further North, Cleethorpes sees an average of just 588mm of rainfall per year, with Herne Bay in Kent (593mm) also making the top five.
Other seaside staycation destinations with some of the lowest levels of rainfall include Margate, Whitley Bay, Skegness and Great Yarmouth.
Surfers’ bolthole Newquay is one of three seaside towns with more than 1,000mm of annual rainfall - 8 per cent over the national average. Penarth in Wales is the wettest with 1,152mm of rainfall a year, with Morecambe (1,049) and Newquay (1,017) following close behind.
Adrian Murdock, hoo co-founder, said: “If last summer taught us anything, it’s that we don’t have to board a plane to have an outstanding holiday by the beach and many of us will be rediscovering just how much Britain has to offer in this respect.
"Of course, the one spanner in the works of a great staycation is often the British weather and a week of rain can really dampen the holiday mood.
"The good news is that the vast majority of British seaside towns are home to below-average levels of rainfall and so fingers-crossed it turns out to be a great couple of months ahead. But a trip to the seaside wouldn’t be the same without a little bit of drizzle and if the worst comes to the worst, another British institution can provide refuge while it rains - the pub.”
List in full:
*Rainfall data sourced from the Met Office
*Largest seaside towns sourced from the Office for National Statistics
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