At last! The sun makes its Festival appearance
THE Edinburgh Festival is about to go out in a blaze of glory on its final weekend.
All of Scotland is expected to enjoy heatwave conditions, with fine weather due to last into next week.
After a soggy August so far, some areas could enjoy temperatures touching 24C (79F).
It means the tens of thousands expected to pack the capital’s streets ahead of the curtain coming down on Monday will enjoy the best weather of the festival’s three-anda-half weeks.
More than 60,000 rugby fans will add to the capital crush at a rare summer lunchtime meeting with France at Murrayfield.
Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said: ‘For the majority of people in Scotland, Saturday is going to be a cracking day.
‘The farther south and east you are, the better the chance of dry and sunny conditions. It will be warm, too, with highs of 24C (75F) on Saturday and Sunday.’
It means the conclusion of Glasgow’s Summer Sessions – with The 1975 headlining – will prove a much sunnier and drier affair tomorrow than last weekend, when Bellahouston Park was turned into a quagmire by heavy rain.
Meanwhile, the RAC estimates 16.5million leisure trips will be taken by car this weekend, the final English Bank Holiday of the summer.
Edinburgh Airport says 96,000 passengers are due to fly in and out over the weekend, with half that number expected at Glasgow Airport.
ScotRail is warning passengers that although it is laying on extra seats, rail passengers will face ‘very busy’ carriages and advises that tickets should be bought in advance.
The picture is less promising on the East Coast Main Line, however. Train operator London North Eastern Railway has issued a ‘do not travel’ warning for the route between Scotland and London via York today and tomorrow, affecting thousands of visitors from England.
King’s Cross station, in London, will be closed due to Network Rail engineering works, and a severely restricted service will run from Scotland to Peterborough.
Meanwhile, the National Farmers Union Scotland has told its members to make safety ‘a priority’ as they take advantage of the dry spell to work around the clock to collect this year’s delayed harvest.
The union’s communications officer Douglas Ross said: ‘The poor weather has been devastating for many, especially those in the arable sector who have been desperate for a spate of dry weather to get combines running and tractors into fields.’
‘Going to be a cracking day’