Weather dampens bank holiday spirit

A disappointing bank holiday in prospect for sun-lovers

Weather watchers have put a dampener on hopes for a scorching bank holiday weekend with a mixed forecast.

Although Saturday has brought sunshine and temperatures of 23-24C to much of England, especially eastern parts, visitors to the West Country have faced a murky 14C.

More cloud is expected on Sunday, bringing rain across northern and western parts of England and Wales.

Scotland and Northern Ireland will have sunshine and showers, while the south-east should be dry and warm, but muggy.

The bank holiday is expected to bring further sunshine and showers in the north, while it could be warm in the south if the sun breaks through the clouds.

A low pressure centre moving in from the Atlantic means the best weather should be in the east with cloud coming in from the west.

The pattern during the past two bank holidays has been for people to go to the seaside, or particular attractions like Alton Towers

English Tourism Council

Bank holiday traffic has already caused some delays. The M4 at Cardiff has been slow through sheer weight of traffic and the southbound M5 in Devon has also been very busy.

A five-mile tailback developed on the A303 near Stonehenge in Wiltshire on Saturday as many tried to get away for the weekend.

The weather forecast comes at a bad time for the countryside, where many of the restrictions imposed during the foot-and-mouth crisis are still in place.

Bookings in some rural areas are still down by 50%, according to the English Tourism Council (ETC).

The ETC predicted that many people would head for beaches or urban tourist attractions as almost 80% of rural footpaths remain closed.

It could mean a bumper weekend for the National Trust, which has announced that 489 of its beaches, parklands, stately homes and gardens are being re-opened to the public.

Bookings down

The trust had already opened 300 rural attractions at Easter.

An ETC spokesman said: "The pattern during the past two bank holidays has been for people to go to the seaside, or particular attractions like Alton Towers.

"In fact, some of these places are doing better than normal - but in rural areas bookings are still down.

"Most people are making day-trips rather than staying a few nights."