White-out threatens park Easter egg hunts

AN EASTER white-out predicted by the Met Office has prompted the National Trust to say its egg hunts may be postponed or held indoors this year.

The trust has advised people planning on attending its annual egg hunt events to check its website for updates on “contingency plans” in the run-up to the Easter weekend.

Easter usually sees hundreds of thousands of children search for chocolate eggs around the grounds of around 250 of the NT’S properties.

A trust spokesman said: “As the weather next weekend may affect different regions and properties in different ways, our advice is for people to check their local trust property web page nearer the time for any updates or contingency plans.

“Every property is different, and how much or little they could be affected by snow will be different, so the best advice is to check the local property page.

“Some places are also running Easter egg hunts for a longer period, not just the Easter weekend, so if people find they can’t visit at the weekend they can check the website to find a place close to them offering other dates.”

Thousands of families planning their own egg hunts may also be disappointed to find that they may have to move indoors. Egg hunt packs that include small chocolate eggs, baskets and clue kits have been a major trend for supermarkets’ Easter offerings this year, allowing both parents and grand-

parents to plan their own hunts at home.

The Met Office said a white Easter in Scotland and the east coast of England was increasingly likely, with cold air from Scandinavia expected to envelop the country from the middle of next week. The West and the South-east are at a lower risk of snow but are likely to see colder than average temperatures as well as rain over Easter.

A spokesman added that “a lot people are going to see rain” during Easter.