Oldham has been rated as the top spot for alfresco dining in the country, elbowing London and other major cities off the charts, according to a study.

Using TripAdvisor data for the number of bars and restaurants with the highest amount of outdoor and alfresco seating in relation to the population, Oldham, Bath, Brighton, Dudley and Southampton make the top five.

The new study by Power EPOS has looked at core factors, including the locations with the most Google searches for outdoor events, the number of restaurants and pubs with outdoor seating and the number of blue cultural heritage plaques in each area.

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The study also looked at average rainfall, sunshine hours and temperatures across the locations.

Despite the typically rainy and cloudy climate compared to the southern parts of the country, Oldham has surprisingly bagged the top spot.

While London boasts the most restaurants and bars with outdoor seating overall, Oldham has still beaten the capital with the most outdoor dining spots in relation to the population.

Molino Lounge on Yorkshire Street is listed as the best-rated restaurant in Oldham for outdoor seating while the wider borough offers a total of 346 restaurants, pubs and bars with outdoor dining and drinking facilities.

Compared to the population of 236,370 people, the study claims Oldham has "more outdoor spots to enjoy than any other town or city in the UK" with 14.6 spots per 10,000 people.

Bath, Brighton and Hove closely follow Oldham's lead - largely due to its better-than-average weather, cultural points of interest and demand for outdoor events.

Bath has 134 outdoor dining and drinking places, compared to its relatively small population of 92,400, overall offering 14.5 spots per 10,000 people.

Other tourist favourites, such as Cambridge and York, also made the top 10 while some smaller towns such as Gillingham have crept onto the list - again due to its warmer climate.

Manchester made the list, coming in at 10th place, with 361 spots overall - the highest amount second only to London.

But compared to the hefty population of 547,627, Manchester offers just 6.5 alfresco spots per 10,000 people.

Where's your favourite outdoor dining and drinking hole in Oldham? Let us know in the comments down below.

If you have a story, I cover all things Oldham from food reviews and local business news to music and events, pubs, education, crime, property, health, community concerns and much more. Please email me at Olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk or send me a message on Twitter @Livbridge with your news.