engine bay really hot

i was out driving for like an hour so engine was at operating temp, the gauge never went over the r in normal, got home popped the hood and it was like a wall of heat, just wondering if this is normal for our cars, recently ive had people commenting on how hot it felt.

coolant looks brand new, no bubbles at all, level is good, the top rad hose gets rock hard after about 10 min but figured that was normal when pressurized

any insight?