When the solar comes out, the telephone comes out. And hundreds of individuals throughout the UK are typing the identical factor. “Beer backyard close by”
However here is the fascinating half. Not all cities behave the identical means. We analyzed search demand, inhabitants and climate knowledge to disclose the place individuals are truly chasing their first drink within the solar. Outcomes are what we name them. Beer Backyard Despair Index.
And it is a very British story.
Manchester tops UK with beer backyard ‘Desperation’
Manchester ranks first.
Regardless of having 141 fewer hours of sunshine per yr than London, individuals are 5.5 occasions extra more likely to search out beer gardens per particular person.
This does not imply the climate has gotten higher. The query is how individuals react to it.
When there’s much less daylight, individuals transfer shortly.
The seek for the north turns into much more troublesome.
Glasgow and Edinburgh observe.
Glasgow, the darkest metropolis within the dataset, nonetheless data practically 5 occasions as many searches per particular person as London.
There’s barely extra deliberate exercise in Edinburgh, with extra searches for the ‘finest’ beer gardens in addition to close by beer gardens.
Taken collectively, these present a transparent sample.
The much less dependable the climate, the stronger the exploration conduct.
southern [and Midland] The town is simpler
London and Birmingham are on the backside of the listing. London has the very best general search quantity, which isn’t any shock given its dimension.
Nevertheless it’s the bottom per particular person. Birmingham reveals the same sample, with comparatively low search demand relative to its inhabitants.
When out of doors ingesting turns into extra accessible, individuals will not have to look. They already know the place to go.
beer backyard despair index
Which UK cities are most eager on beer gardens in comparison with precise sunshine? We mix Ahrefs search knowledge, ONS demographics and Met Workplace Sunshine data.
Information Evaluation · April 2026
| place | metropolis | Searches per 100K | photo voltaic hours per yr | despair rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester🥇 | 75.0 | 1,385 | 54.2 |
| 2 | Glasgow 🥈 | 67.7 | 1,280 | 52.9 |
| 3 | Edinburgh 🥉 | 66.3 | 1,449 | 45.8 |
| 4 | liverpool | 62.0 | 1,390 | 44.6 |
| 5 | nottingham | 50.0 | 1,487 | 33.6 |
| 6 | bristol | 42.6 | 1,485 | 28.7 |
| 7 | birmingham | 15.2 | 1,501 | 10.1 |
| 8 | london | 13.6 | 1,526 | 8.9 |
despair rating = Month-to-month beer backyard searches per 100,000 residents ÷ Annual sunshine hours x 1,000.
Supply: Ahrefs Key phrases Explorer (UK, April 2026) · ONS mid-year inhabitants projections · Met Workplace local weather averages 1991-2020.
What this implies for companies
These usually are not informal searches.
They’re:
Individuals are prepared to go away. And as in depth search knowledge reveals, most of those queries embrace “close to me,” which means timing and visibility are key. Even when your small business is not exhibiting up at that second, another person will.
Essential factors
With sunny skies within the UK, you will not be in search of beer gardens. That is why I search. And when that uncommon heat afternoon arrives, individuals do not hesitate. They search, select, and go away.
If you need to debate how your small business can seem in these searches, please be happy to contact us.
methodology
The evaluation combines search demand, inhabitants knowledge and climate knowledge to match conduct throughout main UK cities.
Search knowledge: Month-to-month search volumes have been obtained from Ahrefs Key phrases Explorer (UK database, April 2026). We analyzed variations of main key phrases together with “beer backyard”. [city]“,” beer backyard [city]” and “The most effective beer backyard in” [city]”.
Inhabitants knowledge: Inhabitants figures have been taken from the ONS and the most recent census estimates for every metropolis.
Climate knowledge: Annual sunshine hours and April temperature averages have been taken from the Japan Meteorological Company’s abstract of present outcomes (1991-2020 averages).
How we scored: We calculated the variety of searches per 100,000 individuals for every metropolis. The “despair rating” was created by dividing per capita search demand by annual sunshine hours.
This supplies a simple solution to examine how intensely individuals search in comparison with the quantity of daylight they usually obtain.
Limitations: Search quantity knowledge represents estimated averages, not precise numbers. Metropolis-level conduct may be influenced by suburb-level searches that aren’t captured within the dataset.
