IT has been one of the hottest summers on record – and when it comes to sunshine, Aberporth is right up there with the very best.

Aberporth was among the sunniest holiday destinations in the UK this summer, according to the Met Office, recording an average of 7.6 hours of sunshine a day between June 1 and August 19.

Helen Chivers, head of news at the Met Office, said: “One of the main reasons respondents said they holidayed abroad was for the sunny weather.

“However, this year the summer (June, July and August) is shaping up as one of the warmest on record for the UK, which seems to be why more people are taking last-minute trips and choosing staycations over vacations.

“This summer’s heatwave conditions have been down to a number of factors, one of the main ones being the position and strength of the jet stream. This allowed high pressure to dominate the UK weather leading to very warm, dry and sunny conditions; perfect for a holiday at home.”

After the third-warmest June and second-warmest July in the Met Office’s official national records dating back to 1910, this year is currently vying with the current record holder, 2006, as the warmest summer on record for mean temperature (which includes both day and night temperatures).

The mean temperature for this summer so far (June, July and the first half of August) is currently at 16.1°C – that’s exactly the same at this point in August of the record-holding summer of 2006. The final figure for 2006 was 15.8°C.

One of the sunniest locations in the UK this summer was Hastings according to Met Office data, which boasted an average of 9.3 hours of sunshine per day. This was followed by Hurn, in Dorset and Morcambe, in Lancashire, both of which recorded 8.8 hours of sunshine per day.