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November 2022 - Utilities

St. Davids was described as the best place to watch firework displays in the UK, with London ranking last: A recent survey into the best and worst places to watch firework displays in the UK this year has uncovered that London is the least desirable place to view the displays in terms of visibility, with a score of just 28.9 out of 100, followed by Liverpool and Leeds.

The worst performing areas were, as you might expect, urban cities, while rural locations scored highest.  St. Davids in Wales ranked top of the list, with a visibility score of 74.4, and was followed by Uckfield in Sussex; Truro in Cornwall; and Wells, Somerset.

The study by LotteryCritic observed the biggest 82 towns and cities in the UK, to find the best places to watch firework displays. The study looked at light factors that could influence a light show; with sky quality (how bright the night sky is), artificial brightness, and the Bortle scale (both sky quality and artificial light combined) being accounted for.

The Bortle scale gives each place a score from one to nine; with one being the clearest sky with little light pollution, and nine being the greatest light pollution. Using this scale, St. Davids recorded an impressive score of three, with the bottom 12 cities given a score of 8.5 – not far off the top score for levels of light pollution.

When looking at how a city’s skyline could impact a firework display, the study found that London, Manchester and Leeds were the worst performers, as well as ranking as the three worst places to watch a firework display on account of light pollution.

Although London ranked bottom of the table for places to watch firework displays, it was the only Southern city in the bottom 10. In addition, seven of the top 10 cities and towns to watch lightshow/fireworks were from the South.

Worst places to watch fireworks according to light pollution data:

1. London, Greater London
2. Manchester, Greater Manchester
3. Leeds, West Yorkshire
4. Glasgow, Lanarkshire
5. Birmingham, West Midlands
6. Salford, Greater Manchester
7. Liverpool, Merseyside
8. Sheffield, South Yorkshire
9. Newcastle, Tyne and Wear
10. Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire

 

Best places to watch a fireworks display:

1. St. Davids (Pembrokeshire, Wales)
2. Uckfield (Sussex, England)
3. Truro (Cornwall, England)
4. Wells (Somerset, England)
5. Kendal (Cumbria, England)
6. Ripon (North Yorkshire, England)
7. Winchester (Hampshire, England)
8. Eastbourne (East Sussex, England)
9. Haverhill (Suffolk, England)
10. Elgin (Moray, Scotland)

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