#1Ilfracombe
Devon · 9,199 peopleAir frosts a year·January low 5.0°C·#1 of 47 in Devon
Ilfracombe, #1 on this list · Photo: Roger A Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland · Climate
Towns with the fewest frosts in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Ilfracombe, Devon, has the fewest frosts of 2,537 towns and cities of 2,500+ in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: 5 air frosts in a typical year (Met Office, 1991–2020). The typical town here has 42.
Air frosts: days a year when the temperature falls below 0°C. Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages on its 2 km grid, the cells inside each town averaged (contains Met Office data © Crown copyright). A described list: no letters. The area rank sits beside each figure.
#15frosts
#2St Ives
Cornwall · 5,413 peopleAir frosts a year·January low 5.1°C·#1 of 35 in Cornwall
#T3Carbis Bay
Cornwall · 3,967 peopleAir frosts a year·January low 5.0°C·#2 of 35 in Cornwall
The top 100
Air frosts a year, lowest first. Towns smaller than a 2 km cell share its figures. Towns with the same figure share a rank (T = tied). Each area rank links to that area’s list.
100 towns on this page. Counties and council areas with 15 or more towns have their own list.
#TownAir frosts a yearJanuary lowCounty rank
Quick answers
Questions people ask
Which town in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has the fewest frosts?
Ilfracombe, Devon: 5 air frosts in a typical year, with January nights averaging 5.0°C. St Ives, Cornwall and Carbis Bay, Cornwall follow.
How are these towns ranked?
By the number of air frosts in a typical year (days when the air falls below 0°C), fewest first, from the Met Office’s 1991–2020 averages on its 2 km grid: the cells inside the town, or the one nearest its centre for a town smaller than a cell. The figure is the one on each town’s Climate page.
Why isn’t my town on this list?
Every town of 2,500+ is ranked here; each county with 15 or more such towns has its own list, linked below.
County by county
Towns with the fewest frosts, county by county
AberdeenshireBedfordshireBerkshireBuckinghamshireCambridgeshireCheshireClwydCornwallCounty DurhamCumbriaDerbyshireDevonDorsetDyfedEast Riding of YorkshireEast SussexEssexFifeGloucestershireGreater ManchesterGwentHampshireHertfordshireHighlandKentLancashireLeicestershireLincolnshireLondonMerseysideMid GlamorganNorfolkNorth LanarkshireNorth YorkshireNorthamptonshireNorthumberlandNottinghamshireOxfordshireShropshireSomersetSouth LanarkshireSouth YorkshireStaffordshireSuffolkSurreyTyne and WearWarwickshireWest GlamorganWest MidlandsWest SussexWest YorkshireWiltshireWorcestershire
Sources: . All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.