Did make me laugh a little, as I was rummaging around Twitter and I noticed Billy Sharp answering a mate's tweet. He mentioned that he's settled in and remarked that it's much warmer down here, it's not just a rumour..! I have lived in different places in the UK, and in one or two places around the world. When I lived in NZ, even down in the south of the South Island, I thought it would be much warmer. That was a myth that didn't last long. I lived in the Weald of Kent for 5 years and, although it was beautifully warm in the summer, just as Pa Larkin would have loved it, I was snowed in every year. Occasionally we'd come back to Southampton, and just as we entered the outskirts of the City we'd find the temperature would rise to the point where we'd have to adjust the temperature control in the car. Southampton never failed us. It's better seasons are always at least 3 weeks longer than elsewhere, even Cornwall. This City, this little Test and Itchen Valley is quite simply, the balmiest, most easy going place, weather wise, in the whole of the UK. You won't find extremes here. If the rest of the UK is under a foot of snow, we may get a few flakes, and only if we're really [un]lucky. No Billy. It's certainly no rumour. Did you pack your bathers..?
Sat in my garden reading in the sunshine on Thursday. On the Isle of Wight, I have noticed that holidaymakers from the north wear t-shirts when us locals are still in jumpers, so assume we must seem very warm to them.
Generally it is warm and sunny on the south coast apart of course except of course Pompey which these days has a permanent black cloud over it.
When working in Belfast I would fly back to Southampton Airport. It would be 10 Deg warmer, hence coat off, jumper off. Cold Pint on top deck of the Red Funnel!
I came back from Inverness once, and it was 15 degrees, got to London, and it was 33, incredible contrast. I live in the Weald at the moment, and you are absolutley right Secondstain, or at least I have noticed your observation, nice in the summer, but two years in a row, snow, and much colder than Southampton (although I haven't lived there for a while) and London, which of course acts as a heat island due to the heat holding of the concrete, and the warmth expelled by buildings.
Plymouth gets rather hot in the summer, but whenever I check the weather and compare it to back home it does always seem to be hotter in Southampton. Plymouth barely ever gets snow, I think there was some heavy snow recently around the country and there was even some in Southampton? But not so much as a flake in Plymouth...instead Plymouth likes to be windy and wet as often as possible.
