Phew! Day we were hotter than Athens, Rome, Tangier, LA and Buenos Aires!
SUMMER arrived early in Scotland yesterday as the country enjoyed a day of brilliant sunshine.
With beautiful blue skies replacing the recent weeks of drizzle, the entire UK revelled in the warmest day of the year so far.
In the north-west Highlands, which recorded Britain’s highest temperatures, the mercury soared to a balmy 68F (20C).
The village of Kinlochewe, Ross-shire, was warmer even than international hotspots such as Madrid, Rome, Buenos Aires and Los Angeles.
Across the country, families cast off their winter jackets and dusted down their picnic blankets as they rushed to enjoy the great outdoors.
In Glasgow, Kelvingrove Park and the Botanical Gardens saw scores of sunbathers soaking up the midday rays.
At Portobello Beach in Edinburgh, banks of deckchairs covered the sand, with beach towels at the ready to dry the swimmers and dogs who had braved the sea.
On a day out at Kinlochewe, Leigh
Davies, 38, a sales engineer from Dumbarton, and Jo Paige, 44, a digital manager from Inverness, found themselves in the country’s hottest spot. Mr Davies said: ‘The weather was forecast to be great this week
‘We just had to stop and soak up the sun’
end, so we decided to have a few days away, before I start my new job next week. It’s such a glorious view here, looking down onto Kinlochewe and Loch Maree, that we just had to stop and soak up the sun as well as the views.’
Just 20 miles up the road, Mairi McCluskey, 72, a retired nurse from Inverness, was on a day trip to Gairloch, Ross-shire, with friends and set up her picnic against the background of the crystal-blue waters. She said: ‘It’s just the perfect place to have a cup of tea and a sandwich.’
Ms McCluskey wasn’t the only one yesterday to find the lure of Gairloch irresistible. Ross Thomson, 35, wife Catherine, 32, and son Lewis, three, from Glasgow, have been holidaying at nearby Torridon for a week and decided to drive over. Mr Thomson said: ‘The weather is stunning today so we decided to come to the beach at Gairloch. Lewis loves playing in the sand and the water is warm enough for a bit of paddling.’
Scotland’s record March temperature was recorded ten years ago, on March 27, 2012, when Aboyne in Aberdeenshire hit 74F (23.6C).
Yesterday’s warm weather was in marked contrast to other parts of Europe, with snow falling in Istanbul and Ankara, the capital of Turkey, plunging to -2C (28F).
Even renowned hotspots in Spain and Italy couldn’t match the early burst of summer in Scotland, with temperatures of 55F (13C) in Madrid and 61F (16C) in Rome.
In Athens, the city managed to record just 44F (7C) while Sunny Beach in Bulgaria, a popular destination for holidaymakers, was nearly deserted as it recorded just 37F (3C).
Elsewhere in the world, Scotland’s temperatures surpassed those of Jerusalem, Tehran, Tangier, Los Angeles, Seoul and Buenos Aires.
Weather forecaster Marco Petagna of the Met Office said: ‘Scotland saw some impressive temperatures today.
‘It’s not unusual to get nice weather in March but it’s very welcome after what we went through last winter.
‘It just shows how temperatures can suddenly shoot up out of the blue. In the past, hot weather seemed to take a while to build up but now it happens so suddenly.’
Forecasters said yesterday that high pressure is likely to remain in place until next weekend, signalling a run of good weather for another week.
Today is set to continue to be dry and sunny, with an unseasonable 57F (14C) possible again in NorthWest Scotland, with some low cloud in the East.
By Thursday, some rain is forecast for the Western Isles, but the mainland is expected to remain dry.