Beer Garden Sun Map
Choosing a beer garden on a sunny day shouldn't be a gamble. A sun map shows you exactly which pub gardens have direct sunlight right now — not a guess, not an estimate, but a live calculation based on where the sun actually is in the sky and which direction each garden faces.
Golden Pints is a live beer garden sun map for Lancaster and the surrounding area. It tracks 33 pub gardens in real time, updated every 60 seconds, so you can see at a glance where to go for a sunny pint.
Open the live sun mapHow a beer garden sun map works
Most pub review sites will tell you a beer garden is "south-facing" or "gets afternoon sun." That's helpful but imprecise. Whether a south-facing garden actually has sun depends on the time of day, the time of year, cloud cover, and the exact compass bearing — not just a vague compass direction.
Garden orientation
Every pub garden has a compass bearing (the direction it faces) and an open angle (how wide the view of the sky is). Golden Pints has measured both for every tracked pub, in person.
Real sun position
The sun's exact position in the sky — its azimuth (compass direction) and elevation (height above the horizon) — is calculated astronomically every 60 seconds for Lancaster's latitude.
Live sun score
Each garden gets a live sun score from 0–100 based on how directly the sun is shining into it right now. Full sun, partial sun, or shade — you can see at a glance.
Plan ahead
Slide forward in time to see which gardens will have sun later today. Planning an evening out? Check which west-facing gardens will catch golden hour.
Why you need a sun map for beer gardens
Every pub drinker in Britain has had the experience: you check the weather forecast, it says sunny, you pick a beer garden, and you arrive to find it's completely in shade. The pub faces the wrong way, or a building blocks the sun at that time of day, or the garden is tucked in a courtyard that only gets light for two hours in the morning.
A sun map solves this by showing you which gardens are actually in sun right now. Not which ones are "south-facing" in theory, but which ones have direct sunlight hitting the garden at this exact moment. It removes the guesswork entirely.
This matters most on days where the sun is lower in the sky — spring, autumn, and the shoulder months where a sunny afternoon is precious. In June, most gardens get some sun. In April or September, the difference between a south-facing garden and a west-facing garden at 3pm can be the difference between sitting in warm sunshine and sitting in cold shade.
What Golden Pints tracks
Golden Pints is the UK's first dedicated beer garden sun tracker. Currently covering Lancaster, Morecambe, and the surrounding area with plans to expand across the northwest.
33
Pubs tracked
60s
Update frequency
100%
Verified in person
24/7
Live tracking
Every pub has been visited in person. Garden bearings are measured with a compass, not estimated from satellite images. Open angles are assessed on-site. The result is accurate sun tracking that actually matches what you see when you walk into the garden.
Open the live beer garden sun mapAreas covered
The Golden Pints sun map currently covers beer gardens across these areas:
Lancaster city centre
Historic pubs, canal-side gardens, and the castle quarter
Morecambe seafront
West-facing bay views, sunset pubs, and the Art Deco Midland Hotel terrace
Hest Bank
Bay-side pub with one of the most open aspects in the area
Glasson Dock
Estuary-side pubs with westerly aspects — excellent for late afternoon sun
Carnforth
Village pubs with surrounding countryside and open gardens
Bolton-le-Sands
Coastal Way pubs with south-facing gardens backing onto open Lancashire countryside
More than a static map
A static sun map can tell you which direction a garden faces. That's useful, but it doesn't account for the time of day, the season, or how far the sun has travelled across the sky since morning. A static map says "this garden faces south." A live sun map says "this garden has direct sun right now, and it will have sun for another 3 hours."
Golden Pints goes further than static maps with:
- ·Live sun scores — updated every 60 seconds based on real astronomical calculations
- ·Hourly cloud forecasts — Open-Meteo weather data shows cloud cover for the next 24 hours, so you know if the sun will stay out
- ·Plan Ahead slider — see which gardens will have sun at any time today — slide to 5pm to find the best golden hour spots
- ·Weekend forecast — plan Saturday and Sunday pub visits based on predicted sun windows
- ·Golden hour badges — pubs with sunset-facing gardens get a golden hour badge when the timing is right
Frequently asked questions
Is this a real map or a list?
Both. Golden Pints has a map view showing all tracked pubs on a live map with sun status pins, plus a list view that ranks pubs by current sun score. Switch between them with the view toggle.
How accurate is the sun tracking?
Very. We use the SunCalc astronomical library to calculate the sun's exact position based on Lancaster's latitude and longitude. Garden bearings are measured in person with a compass. The result matches what you'll see when you arrive — it's not an approximation.
Does it account for cloud cover?
Yes. The tracker shows live cloud cover from Open-Meteo weather data. If it's overcast, the sun scores reflect that — so you won't be told a garden is 'sunny' when it's actually cloudy.
Can I use it to plan ahead?
Yes. The Plan Ahead slider lets you check sun conditions for any time today. Planning an evening out? Slide to 6pm and see which gardens will have golden hour light.
Is it free?
Completely free. No account, no ads, no tracking of your personal data. Just open the tracker and go.
Will it expand beyond Lancaster?
Yes. Lancaster is the starting point. The plan is to expand across the northwest — Preston, Blackpool, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, and York are all on the roadmap.
See the sun map now
Open the Golden Pints live tracker to see which beer gardens have sun right now. No signup needed — just tap and go.
Open the beer garden sun map