Qibla direction in the UK, from where you are

How to find the qibla direction in the UK

Three ways, in the order most people should try them.

1. Tap the button above. Your device gives the page its position and its compass heading, and the dial points at the Kaaba from wherever you are standing.
2. No compass in the device, or one you do not trust? Take the bearing for your city from the table below and set it on any separate compass — the second column is the number for that.
3. Nothing to hand at all? The bearing still works with a map, a landmark or the sun, and the sun is the one thing a radiator cannot deflect.

How this is worked out

The qibla is the great-circle bearing from your position to the Kaaba in Makkah (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E) — the shortest path across the surface of the Earth, which is what the classical and modern authorities use. From London that bearing is close to 119° from true north.

Your phone’s compass measures magnetic north, which across the UK currently sits between roughly one degree east and one degree west of true north depending on where you stand. We correct for that using the World Magnetic Model, and show you the correction rather than hiding it.

Nothing here is rounded to a national figure or borrowed from a lookup table: the bearing is computed for the coordinates your own device reports. The full method is written out, along with how accurate it can honestly claim to be.

Qibla direction from British cities

The bearing moves across the country — six degrees between Cardiff and Aberdeen — so these are worked out city by city rather than quoted as one figure for the UK. The first column is measured from true north. The second is what to set on an ordinary magnetic compass, which is a different number because magnetic north is not true north.

Makkah is between about 4,800 and 5,300 km away depending on where you start. If your phone has no compass, or you do not trust the one it has, the degrees above are still exact and can be used with a map or the sun instead.

Common questions

What is the qibla direction in the UK?

Between roughly 115° and 122° from true north, depending on where in Britain you are — east-south-east. It is close to 119° from London, 118° from Birmingham and Manchester, 115.5° from Belfast and 121.5° from Aberdeen. Because the Earth is curved, the bearing changes across the country, so a single national figure is always slightly wrong for most people using it.

Why do two qibla apps show different directions?

Most often because of magnetic declination. Your phone's magnetometer finds magnetic north, while the qibla is measured from true north, and a tool that skips the correction is wrong by a degree or two anywhere in Britain. The rest is the compass itself: metal desks, radiators, laptops, speakers, car dashboards and magnetic phone cases all pull the needle, and an uncalibrated magnetometer drifts.

Is the qibla south-east from Britain?

East-south-east, nearer 119° than the 135° that south-east would mean. The shortest path to Makkah leaves Britain on a more northerly heading than a flat map suggests, because a flat map cannot show the curve of the Earth. Following a constant south-easterly compass heading would take you several degrees off.

How do I find the qibla without a compass?

The bearing in degrees works with anything that shows direction. On a map, draw the line from where you are at that angle and see which street or building edge it runs along, then use that line indoors. Outdoors on a clear morning you can use the sun: as it climbs from sunrise towards south it passes through the qibla bearing, and at that moment the shadow of a vertical object lies along the qibla line.

Do I need to install an app?

No. This page is the tool. It runs in your browser, needs no account and shows no adverts. You can add it to your home screen if you would like it to open like an app, and once it has loaded once it keeps working without a connection.

Does this site know where I am?

Your browser asks your permission and then gives the coordinates to the page running on your own device, where the bearing is worked out. Nothing is sent to our server and nothing is kept between visits. If you would rather not share your location at all, you can type a postcode instead.