Holidaymakers enjoyed the sun on the country’s beaches and parks on Saturday’s first Easter holiday with no restrictions on blocking for two years.
Many headed ashore, with most of the country enjoying temperatures that reached 21.6C on Saturday, according to the meteorological bureau. It was the hottest day of the year so far on Good Friday, when a maximum of 23.4 degrees was recorded in St. James’s Park in London – warmer than Ibiza.
The seven miles of beaches in Bournemouth attracted some of the biggest crowds of the year. The coastal car parks in Cornwall were also full as holidaymakers headed to the beaches and pubs.
The Easter escape was interrupted by a shortage of staff at the country’s airports and a halt to rail transport on part of the network. Liverpool and Man City fans traveling to the FA Cup match at Wembley have been advised to avoid traveling by train due to the closure of Euston Station in London for track improvements.
Drivers were hit with long delays on some routes. In Berkshire, a section of the M4 was closed in both directions between junctions 13 and 14 after fire crews were called in for fire and explosions at an industrial unit near the Welford RAF base. Huge smoke could be seen from the highway.
On an Easter egg hunt in Brighton yesterday. Photo: Sarah Eluwick
The Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said the fire involved “possible pyrotechnics and fireworks”. No casualties were reported.
In the southeast, motorists faced congestion following a crash in Surrey and a police accident at the Dartford intersection that stopped traffic, with congestion six miles of the M25 reported on Saturday afternoon.
Drivers also faced delays near Bristol and Birmingham, although yesterday it was thought that traffic was not as intense as on Good Friday, according to AA, which estimates that about 27.6 million trips will be made in total. -loaded by the usual “bank holiday weekend.
Boxing rabbits in a field near York Photo: Charlotte Graham
The RAC suggested the best time to travel on the main roads on Sunday after 3:00 p.m., and then either before 10:30 a.m. on Easter Monday, or after 6:30 p.m., to avoid long queues.
There have also been some reports of fuel shortages, with the Gasoline Retailers Association, which represents independent front courts, saying it was aware of protests at several supply outlets.
Meanwhile, after weeks of delays and a baggage fiasco at UK airports, there was some good news from Heathrow and Manchester. A man flying from Heathrow wrote online that it took him only three hours to get from Wakefield to the airport and through security.
Another wrote: “Despite all the headlines, Heathrow Airport was easy to check in and secure. And now we have more than two hours to kill. And in Manchester, a passenger wrote that “there is no queue for tax returns – no check-in – the security queue is very small – to and from the airport in 15 minutes.”
At the port of Dover, traffic is said to be running smoothly again after days of delays caused by the cessation of ferry crossings to and from Calais by P&O Ferries.
The Meteorological Service said Saturday’s temperature was above average for mid-April yesterday, with the highest temperature of 21.6 degrees recorded in Chevener, near Barnstaple in Devon.
Dan Stroud of the Meteorological Service said it was an “Easter day south and southeast”, especially with few clouds in other areas.
Most of the southern and eastern regions are expected to remain dry until the end of the sunny holiday, but there will be more volatile weather in the north and northwest.
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