Suntap shows exactly where the sun hits in any UK pub garden, not just whether it gets sun. Every garden is mapped by the community, and it runs in your browser with no app to install.
There's no app to download. Suntap runs in your browser, on whatever device you're holding. The engine works anywhere we can get 3D building data, so it's not technically limited to the UK. The UK is just where the community has done most of the mapping so far.
We take high-quality 3D building data and trace the sun's path across each garden, working out which patches sit in direct light minute by minute. This takes into account trees, terrain, buildings, and other obstacles.
The rating is the average proportion of the garden in direct sunlight across a summer afternoon. More sun icons means more sun, for longer, across more of the space. It's not a review. It's purely a measure of sunshine.
It depends on which way the garden faces and what's blocking the sky around it. South and southwest gardens are usually best from early afternoon onwards. East-facing ones peak in the morning, west-facing in the evening. The slider on each pub page shows the exact window for that garden.
Southwest is the sweet spot in the UK, with direct sun from around midday until sunset. Due south is better for a lunchtime pint, due west for a long evening one. Suntap reads the orientation of each garden from the geometry, so you don't have to guess.
Coverage is deepest in London, Bristol and Brighton. The engine works anywhere we can get 3D building data, so most UK cities are covered to some degree, and a handful of pubs further afield as well. Smaller towns and rural areas fill in as people draw their locals.
Building shadows and solar angles are modelled precisely. What we don't model: clouds, weather, or anything else that turned up after the building data was captured. Treat the predictions as the upper bound: the sun a garden gets when nothing else is in the way.
Not yet. The current model assumes clear skies. Cloud-cover integration is on the list. For now, check a weather app alongside Suntap before you commit.
No. Suntap is a website you open in any browser, on any device. There's nothing to download, nothing to sign up for to view a pub, and no platform lock-in.
Either there's no 3D building data for that area, or no one has drawn the garden yet. Search for your pub and trace the outline from its page. It takes a minute, and once it's mapped it stays mapped for everyone.