Why the hottest place in Britain - a tiny Sussex hamlet - is not exactly brimming with tourists

The hamlet - population 45 (social distancing no problem) - sweltered in temperatures of 34.5C on Saturday, hotter than Rome, Tenerife or even New Delhi.

Wiggonholt itself, 1.5 miles south east of Pulborough, consists of a farm, a few houses and a 12the century small parish church near the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ nature reserve at Pulborough Brooks.

Janet Aldin, churchwarden and secretary of The Wiggonholt Association, said: “The RSPB have a weather station there, that’s where the temperature was recorded. We’re always the hottest or the coldest or whatever.”

In fact, on Saturday - Britain’s hottest day for 17 years - Wiggonholt, officially classified as being in the Horsham district, shared the hot-spot accolade with Herstmonceux in the Wealden district of East Sussex and Frittenden in Kent.

The mercury rose to a staggering 34.5C in each of the places, according to the Met Office.

But, says Janet, Saturday’s soaring temperature is not Wiggonholt’s only claim to notoriety. “The Office of National Statistics have listed Wiggonholt as having had ten deaths from Covid 19, eight in April and two in May.

“It’s utter nonsense, of course. They have put together figures for the central area of Storrington, Amberley and Pulborough.

“It looks like Wiggonholt has been hit hard by the pandemic but it’s not true. We have had no signs of it at all. It’s bizarre.”

Janet, who has lived in Wiggonholt for 26 years, says the area is “normally very quiet. It is just a little lane. We get walkers and so on but it is just a medieval hamlet, essentially.”

It was originally a Roman settlement and the remains of a Roman bath house have been excavated nearby.

But anyone wanting to visit Britain’s hottest spot might be a tad disappointed at its attractions: the nearest pubs are The Crown at Cootham and The Sportsman at Amberley - “They do deliveries,” says Janet. “There’s no pub within walking distance.”

And one of the nearest shops - Amberley Village Stores around three miles away - also gets the thumbs up from Janet.

But public transport is another matter. “There’s one bus an hour, if you’re lucky, which goes to Petworth and Storrington.”

The Wiggonholt Association, of which Janet is secretary, is an environmental group formed 25 years ago which successfully halted plans for sand extraction in the area.

Ironically, given Wiggonholt’s latest hot-spot status, last October the association organised a meeting on climate change at Pulborough Village Hall and was about to stage another climate change forum in March which had to be cancelled because of the pandemic.