Is the Sun ever straight overhead?

The stops

1. At any moment the Sun is straight overhead at just one spot on Earth. At 11 in the morning at Greenwich it is over Africa, near 15° east. As the Earth turns, that spot slides west 15° every hour, so at the same time each day it comes back to the same longitude.
2. Through the year the spot moves north and south, but never past the tropics. On 21 June it is over the Tropic of Cancer, 23.4° north: in the Sahara, at this hour.
3. On 21 December it is over the Tropic of Capricorn, 23.4° south, in Namibia. So at 11 at Greenwich, all year round, the Sun is overhead somewhere in Africa, which stretches across both tropics along that line.
4. London is at 51.5° north, far outside the tropics, so the Sun is never straight overhead there, or anywhere in the UK. At noon in June it climbs to about 62°. At noon in December it only reaches about 15°.
5. A low Sun spreads its light thin, like a torch shone at a slant, so the ground warms less. And it is up for less of the day: London has about 16½ hours of daylight in June but under 8 in December.
6. The grey skies are something else: the weather. The UK lies in the path of westerly winds off the Atlantic, which bring damp air and rain clouds. Madrid is never under an overhead Sun either, and it is one of the sunniest capitals in Europe.
7. See it for yourself: open the Sun panel and slide through the year. It shows how long the day is where you are, and how high the Sun climbs at noon. Choose a place between the tropics and, on the right day, the noon Sun is straight overhead.

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How far is far? The solar system shrunk onto the Earth, with the Sun in London.