So the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west...

Garden Compass In Hand
Well, sort of.

Yes, I know that's what we're taught at school, but it's not the complete picture. In Europe, for instance, the Sun only does that for a few weeks in the spring and the autumn. In midwinter and midsummer it crosses the horizon a long way from east and west.

This is where the Sun compass comes in handy - it shows us those angles for each month in the year and lets us determine their effect on the house we're thinking of buying or the garden we're planning.

Learn how it works

 

The time machine with many uses

Looking at houses?

Looking at houses?

Most houses are put up for sale in spring or summer and viewed during the day. The Sun compass reveals to you how morning and evening views change with the seasons and how sunny - or shady - a place will be in the winter months. This little 'time machine' can help you find your perfect home - and perhaps save you making a bad and expensive decision.

Learn more


Planning a garden?

Planning a garden?

Some plants love lots of light, others more shade. The Sun compass shows how the Sun moves across a garden through the seasons and helps you site sitting areas and put trees and plants in their preferred microclimates.

Learn more


Taking the best photos

Taking the best photos

The angle of light makes all the difference in photography, being especially good around sunrise and sunset. The Sun compass reveals the direction the Sun rises and sets at different times of year, so you can find the best location, or determine the time of year, to get that perfect shot.
 

Couldn't I do this on my smartphone?

Couldn't I do this on my smartphone?

Absolutely. You can buy apps that overlay the Sun's path over the camera view. They're very clever. I have one too.

I still have a Sun Compass.

I can use it in the rain without worry. I can even drop it in a puddle, or a pond, and it will be fine. In over twenty years, mine has been dropped a few times, including onto hard surfaces. It still works.

On one trip my compass got remagnetised to point the wrong way - I'm guessing by an airport security machine. I remagnetised it to point north again using the south pole of a bar magnet. It took just a few seconds.
Even if the compass part was to get damaged, I could pop it out of the baseplate and replace it with another costing just a couple of pounds. Simple tools are easy to fix.

If I were to lose the Sun Compass, I wouldn't fret. It didn't cost me much. No one has ever tried to steal it. It still works just as well as the day I bought it. It has no battery to run down and there'll never be a 'latest model' to make it obsolete.

It's working as soon as I take it out of my pocket. I don't have to wait for the app to open, or the GPS to find enough satellites. And it won't distract me from the job in hand with calls and notifications galore.

A smartphone is clever. The Sun Compass is reliable.