THE AIRPORT
numbers could still descend on Brighton seafront for an unofficial celebration. Traders yesterday reported brisk business as the UK’s beaches soon became packed.
Olivia Reid, of The Shelter Hall, a food, drink and entertainment hub on Brighton seafront, said: “We are very excited for a sunny weekend.
“We are fully prepared and ready to engage with a controlled number of people.
“We have security on the door and acknowledge that it’s going to be very sunny and is a weekend of Pride.We are offering bottomless Prosecco brunch in two-hour slots.We have maximised seating outside to manage the numbers.”
Down the coast in Dorset, more than 100,000 sunseekers crammed on to Bournemouth beach to make the most of the baking conditions.
And most were undeterred by fears over the coronavirus pandemic.
Poppy Childs, 23, said: “I know the police have to put extra stuff in place and that’s fine – it’s there to keep everyone safe.
“We’ve just come down because it’s boiling hot and we want to enjoy the beach.”
In the north of England, beaches like those at Blackpool and Scarborough were also extremely busy, unaffected by the Government’s reintroduced restrictions.
But after sporadic thunderstorms broke out in some areas last night, weathermen said that the country would feel a distinct cooling down today.Although there will still be plenty of sunshine, temperatures will plummet by 18 degrees Fahrenheit.
The mini heatwave actually comes at the end of a wet and rather chilly July.
The UK average temperature for the month was just 57F – a couple of degrees less than the 1981-2010 long-term average of 59.3F.
Prior to the last two days, the highest maximum temperature recorded this month was 83.3F on July 17 at Heathrow Airport.
The mainly cool temperatures and wet weather have been due to low pressure systems and weather fronts coming through, as well as “unseasonal” winds – gusts of up to 50mph were recorded on Monday.