Jersey and Guernsey in battle of the sunshine isles

An article in The Guernsey Press claimed that the island, pictured, was “sunnier than Jersey”
An article in The Guernsey Press claimed that the island, pictured, was “sunnier than Jersey”
ALAMY

For decades Jersey has drawn tourists with a claim to be the “sunniest place in the British Isles”. Now its neighbour threatens to rain on its parade.

The residents of Guernsey are insisting that their island, in fact, is the place to catch the sun.

It started with an article in The Guernsey Press, based on Met Office figures and headlined: “It’s official – we are sunnier than Jersey.” That soon whipped up a squall, prompting accusations of clouded comparisons and a foggy relationship with the truth.

Jersey produced separate figures showing that it had more sunshine last year
Jersey produced separate figures showing that it had more sunshine last year
ALAMY

The Met Office, the newspaper reported, had recorded 1,875 hours of sunshine at Guernsey airport last year and only 1,781 at Jersey airport.

Jersey, however, has a second recording site, at the Fort Regent outcrop on its