Warm Easter blast sparks dash to the beach
THE Easter weekend finished on a high yesterday as most of the UK bathed in brilliant sunshine.
England enjoyed its hottest day of the year so far, with the mercury soaring to a high of almost 68F ( 20C).
People packed beaches in resorts such as Bournemouth as the crowds made the most of Bank Holiday Monday.
The hats and scarves were finally off as day- trippers took to the coast to enjoy the warmer weather.
Soaring temperatures also provided ideal conditions for walkers in the Lake District in Cumbria and people flocked to London’s parks.
The warm and brighter weather delighted many after a wet and miserable start to spring and Easter.
The highest temperature recorded so far this year in England yesterday afternoon was in Astwood Bank in Redditch, Worcs, where sun worshippers enjoyed 67.1F.
The only places to miss out on the summer sun were parts of the north- west of England, Wales and some of the east coast which were shrouded in cloud.
Met Office forecaster Charles Powell said today would be “much of the same but there may be more cloud around”.
He said: “This will make it a degree or two cooler, with highs of around 15 or 16 and mostly fine conditions except for mist in north- west England, Wales and south- west Scotland.”
The higher temperatures and sunnier spells will last until the weekend, Mr Powell explained, with highs of 68F expected in the South- east on Friday.
But by the weekend he said more unsettled weather could move in, bringing rain.
He added: “The advice is to make the most of it as the weather will be unsettled from Saturday, with cooler condi- tions and a breeze for a few days.”
Meanwhile holidaymakers were last night returning from their long weekend breaks, with about 16 million cars estimated to have been on the roads over the Bank Holiday break.
A large programme of engineering works also took place on the railways over the Easter weekend, paralysing much of the network.