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Heading for the beach? Glorious Bank Holiday weather predicted
Washed-out Brits are set to enjoy a rare respite from the miserable summer with sunshine and cloudless skies expected for the bank holiday weekend.
With temperatures expected to hit 26C (79F) over the weekend, millions of drivers are expected to take to the roads this afternoon amid warnings of congestion on popular routes.
Only north and western Scotland are expected to get any rain or heavy cloud over the next few days, with temperatures set to soar in England and Wales.
"It's certainly going to be a lot better than it has been compared with the rest of the summer," said Gareth Harvey of MeteoGroup UK, the weather division of the Press Association.
He went on: "In England and Wales, almost everywhere will see a lot of sunshine and temperatures will be around 22-23C (71-73F).
"We could get temperatures as high as 26C in southern England today, although western and northern Scotland could get drizzle. It will be a bit cooler on Sunday and bank holiday Monday but temperatures should be around 21-24C (70-75F)."
Although the Highways Agency has suspended roadworks at half of sites on England's motorways and main A roads, motoring organisations warned of congestion on popular routes.
The AA said 37% of people had planned a bank holiday getaway - slightly up on last August bank holiday's figure of 35%.
The organisation singled out Brighton, Bournemouth, Torquay, Newquay and Great Yarmouth as popular bank holiday destinations, plus theme parks.
It added this afternoon was expected to be the busiest getaway time with the five busiest routes likely to be the M25, M1 northbound, the M4 westbound, the M6 through the West Midlands and north of Manchester and Liverpool and the M5.
Despite the lifting of some roadworks, the Highways Agency said a number of busy routes would still have works in place.
These include the M1 between junctions 6a and 10 near Luton in Bedfordshire and the M4 at junction 12 near Reading.
Many people are taking the chance to have a break further afield. Sir Richard Branson's airline Virgin Atlantic will carry 25% more passengers over the bank holiday period than last year.
The airline will host almost 90,000 passengers, with Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Nairobi and Johannesburg proving the most popular.
Virgin said there had been a surge of bookings in August prompted by the bad weather in the UK.
Meanwhile, Dover-Calais ferry operator SeaFrance announced a 12.1% increase in car traffic to the end of July 2007 compared with the period January-July 2006.
British Airways said its most popular European destinations this weekend were Paris, Nice and Rome, with the leading long-haul routes being Los Angeles and Hong Kong.
BA was also expected to fly more than 20,000 passengers to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Channel Tunnel high-speed train company Eurostar is expecting to carry a record 153,000 travellers from yesterday until the end of Tuesday August 28.
This is 7% more than travelled last year with the company which runs services from London to Paris and Brussels.
UK tourism chiefs were hoping the good weather forecast would help attractions and resorts make up for some of the many wash-outs they have endured this summer.
The VisitBritain organisation said 19% of Britain adult population planned an overnight trip in Britain over the last two weeks in August.
VisitBritain's marketing director Mike Bedingfield said: "It's great news that nearly one in five of us are planning to take a break here in our own country. It will give a much needed boost to parts of the tourism industry after a challenging start to the summer.
"Whatever the weather, there's always something for visitors to enjoy - from rural escapes and outdoor pursuits to superlative attractions indoors and out."
With temperatures expected to hit 26C (79F) over the weekend, millions of drivers are expected to take to the roads this afternoon amid warnings of congestion on popular routes.
Only north and western Scotland are expected to get any rain or heavy cloud over the next few days, with temperatures set to soar in England and Wales.
"It's certainly going to be a lot better than it has been compared with the rest of the summer," said Gareth Harvey of MeteoGroup UK, the weather division of the Press Association.
He went on: "In England and Wales, almost everywhere will see a lot of sunshine and temperatures will be around 22-23C (71-73F).
"We could get temperatures as high as 26C in southern England today, although western and northern Scotland could get drizzle. It will be a bit cooler on Sunday and bank holiday Monday but temperatures should be around 21-24C (70-75F)."
Although the Highways Agency has suspended roadworks at half of sites on England's motorways and main A roads, motoring organisations warned of congestion on popular routes.
The AA said 37% of people had planned a bank holiday getaway - slightly up on last August bank holiday's figure of 35%.
The organisation singled out Brighton, Bournemouth, Torquay, Newquay and Great Yarmouth as popular bank holiday destinations, plus theme parks.
It added this afternoon was expected to be the busiest getaway time with the five busiest routes likely to be the M25, M1 northbound, the M4 westbound, the M6 through the West Midlands and north of Manchester and Liverpool and the M5.
Despite the lifting of some roadworks, the Highways Agency said a number of busy routes would still have works in place.
These include the M1 between junctions 6a and 10 near Luton in Bedfordshire and the M4 at junction 12 near Reading.
Many people are taking the chance to have a break further afield. Sir Richard Branson's airline Virgin Atlantic will carry 25% more passengers over the bank holiday period than last year.
The airline will host almost 90,000 passengers, with Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Nairobi and Johannesburg proving the most popular.
Virgin said there had been a surge of bookings in August prompted by the bad weather in the UK.
Meanwhile, Dover-Calais ferry operator SeaFrance announced a 12.1% increase in car traffic to the end of July 2007 compared with the period January-July 2006.
British Airways said its most popular European destinations this weekend were Paris, Nice and Rome, with the leading long-haul routes being Los Angeles and Hong Kong.
BA was also expected to fly more than 20,000 passengers to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Channel Tunnel high-speed train company Eurostar is expecting to carry a record 153,000 travellers from yesterday until the end of Tuesday August 28.
This is 7% more than travelled last year with the company which runs services from London to Paris and Brussels.
UK tourism chiefs were hoping the good weather forecast would help attractions and resorts make up for some of the many wash-outs they have endured this summer.
The VisitBritain organisation said 19% of Britain adult population planned an overnight trip in Britain over the last two weeks in August.
VisitBritain's marketing director Mike Bedingfield said: "It's great news that nearly one in five of us are planning to take a break here in our own country. It will give a much needed boost to parts of the tourism industry after a challenging start to the summer.
"Whatever the weather, there's always something for visitors to enjoy - from rural escapes and outdoor pursuits to superlative attractions indoors and out."
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