The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Two-year-old Molly Marshall from Newport has fun during her visit to Lochore Meadows in Fife as people flock to local beauty spots to enjoy the sunshine. Picture: Steve MacDougall.
FIFE: Lengthy queues on roads reported as mercury rises
Sunseekers flocking to the coast and Scottish beauty spots have caused traffic chaos.
Roads were said to be heavily congested from around 11.30am yesterday in Fife as families descended on Aberdour Silver Sands Beach to make the most of the sunny weather.
The beach itself was packed with people throughout the day, although photographs on social media show most of the visitors appear to be following social distancing restrictions.
Vehicles queuing to get into the Aberdour car park spilled on to the Main Street and beyond.
Motorists also reported lengthy queues in both directions at the Queensferry Crossing.
Burntisland was said to be extremely busy around lunchtime and traffic congestion there was exacerbated by diversions along the High Street.
There were similar problems with people heading to and from St Andrews, with traffic lights at Guardbridge contributing to queues in that part of north-east Fife.
Police Scotland has urged anyone planning on meeting up with others to observe physical distancing guidance and “be considerate of your actions on others enjoying time in the same area”.
Fife’s Lochore Meadows beauty spot also saw high volumes of visitors.
The Met Office said it was the thirdhottest day on record in the UK, with temperatures reaching 37.8C at Heathrow Airport.
It came as CalMac Ferries raised a yellow alert about Ayrshire trips from Largs to Millport and suspended crossings due to “extreme volume of passengers”.
Train services were also be restricted on some routes. A ScotRail spokesman said: ‘We’re having to restrict travel on some routes to just those who are making essential journeys due to the sheer numbers of people heading to the coast this afternoon.”