You’ve found a pub with a beer garden. Great start. But will it actually be in the sun when you get there? A lot of that comes down to one simple thing: which way the garden faces.
The short answer
- In the northern hemisphere (the UK, Ireland, Europe, North America), south-facing beer gardens get the most sun.
- In the southern hemisphere (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, most of South America), north-facing beer gardens get the most sun.
- For evening sun anywhere, look for west-facing spots.
In other words, the sunniest beer gardens face the equator.
Why does it flip between hemispheres?
The sun rises roughly in the east and sets roughly in the west everywhere. But on its way across the sky, it arcs towards the equator.
If you’re in London, the sun spends the day in the southern half of the sky, so a garden facing south looks straight at it. If you’re in Sydney, the sun spends the day in the northern half of the sky, so you want a garden facing north. That’s why so many Australian property listings brag about north-facing backyards, while British ones brag about south-facing gardens. They’re bragging about the same thing.
In the tropics, the sun passes almost directly overhead for part of the year, so orientation matters a lot less. There, the shady spot is often the one everyone wants.
Which direction is best at what time of day?
| You want | Northern hemisphere | Southern hemisphere |
|---|---|---|
| Morning sun | East-facing | East-facing |
| Sun for most of the day | South-facing | North-facing |
| Afternoon and evening sun | West-facing | West-facing |
| Shade on a hot day | North-facing | South-facing |
- East-facing gardens are great for a sunny brunch, but they usually fall into shade after lunch.
- Equator-facing gardens (south in the north, north in the south) get sun for most of the day, which makes them the safest bet.
- West-facing gardens are the after-work favourite. They catch the afternoon and evening sun, right when most people are free.
- Pole-facing gardens get the least direct sun. On a scorching summer day, that might be exactly what you want.
How do the seasons change things?
In summer, the sun climbs higher and stays up longer. It also rises and sets further towards the pole, so in midsummer the sun rises in the north-east and sets in the north-west in the UK (and in the south-east and south-west in Australia). That means even a garden facing away from the equator can catch some early morning or late evening sun in summer.
In winter, the sun stays low, and low sun means long shadows. Here’s how high the sun gets at midday, and how long a shadow a 10-metre (roughly three-storey) building casts at that moment:
| City | Midday sun in midsummer | Shadow length | Midday sun in midwinter | Shadow length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | About 62° | About 5m | About 15° | About 37m |
| Sydney | About 80° | About 2m | About 33° | About 15m |
Calculated from the sun’s position at each city’s latitude.
So in midwinter, a London beer garden needs a lot of open space on its south side to get any sun at all, while in Sydney a north-facing courtyard with a bit of space around it can still get plenty of sun in July.
Direction isn’t everything
A south-facing garden (or north-facing, in the southern hemisphere) is a good start, but plenty of other things get in the way:
- Buildings. A garden squeezed between tall buildings may only get an hour or two of direct sun, whichever way it faces.
- Trees. Great for shade in summer, not so great when you’re chasing every ray in autumn.
- Walls, fences and umbrellas. These all cast shadows, especially when the sun is low.
- Height and open views. Rooftops and waterfront venues often get sun for much longer than ground-level gardens nearby, because nothing blocks it.
How do you work out which way a beer garden faces?
- Check a map. Most maps have north at the top. Find the pub, see which side of the building the garden is on, and you’ve got your answer.
- Use your phone’s compass. Stand in the garden, face out from the building and see which direction you’re pointing.
- Look at the shadows. Around the middle of the day, shadows point away from the equator: towards the north in the northern hemisphere, and towards the south in the southern hemisphere.
- Or skip the homework. Sunny shows you pubs and beer gardens in the sun right now, anywhere in the world. It’s free, and no venue can pay to be on it.
The bottom line
Face the equator for all-day sun, face west for evening sun, and keep an eye on the buildings and trees around you. Get those right and you’ll spend a lot more time in the sun and a lot less time moving your chair around the garden after it.
Header photo by Sandro Cenni on Unsplash, taken at a village pub in the North Downs, Surrey.