White hot Scottish summer
Heat is on..and set to stay
Derek Alexander It’s the image that perfectly sums up Scotland’s summer.
Just days after fresh snow capped the Cairngorms, sun seekers yesterday stripped off at Loch Morlich beach beneath the mountain range.
Temperatures hit 20C in the Highlands, leading to visitors queuing to hire standup paddle boards and enjoy the warm weather. Forecasters predict the
72F temperatures will continue to soar to 24C today and could be as high as 27C by Tuesday.
Raymond Sutherland, who travelled to Loch Morlich from Edinburgh with his daughter Alba Rose, said: “We are up visiting family for the weekend and the weather is fantastic, it’s hard to believe that it was snowing last week. It’s definitely a shorts and T-shirt day today.”
Beauty spots were busy from early morning yesterday, with the car parks at Arrochar, Ben A’an and Ben Ledi near Loch Lomond filling up by 10am.
However, some areas weren’t so lucky. Cloud left many Ayrshire resorts overcast but these should clear today.
Keep Scotland Beautiful say 52 awardwinning beaches are ready for visitors, including Broughty Ferry at Dundee, North Berwick East in East Lothian and Troon in Ayrshire.
The Met Office’s Sarah Kent urged people to make sure they used sun cream to protect themselves from harmful rays.
She said: “The sun has turned up just in time to save the Bank Holiday weekend.
“It’s not often that you say this, but it could become too much for some. With
light winds, it will feel very pleasant indeed but UV levels will be at the upper end of the ‘ high’ bracket – about six or seven – so some kind of sun protection is crucial.”
The weather expert revealed Scotland had broken its heat record for the year, in the communit y of Achnagar t in Sutherland, on Friday.
The mercury topped out at 22.1C, which exceeded the previous year high of 20C seen at Bowhill in Selkirkshire.