Jams on roads to the coast

Jams on roads to the coast

Traffic crawling on the M11 northbound on Friday

Holidaymakers heading to UK beauty spots had a frustrating start on Good Friday, with heavy traffic and stop-start motorways.

All major coastal roads saw heavy traffic during the day, with long tailbacks on several routes.

Despite a quiet start, traffic levels picked up and were still heavy in many areas by early evening.

The A1 northbound was closed for several hours between junctions six and seven after an accident in which two people died when their car left the road.

The M3 to Southampton, M1 through Yorkshire, M62 to Hull and the M56 from the north-west towards north Wales were also busy for much of the day.

The M4 was "rammed" in several places and the M11 was also quite congested, said the BBC travel centre.

Rail disruption

The A30 in Cornwall also saw heavy traffic, and the M5 around Bristol was described as "pretty horrendous" by one BBC reporter there.

Despite the delays, an AA Roadwatch spokesman said the worst was over as temperatures were expected to drop over the weekend.

"We are expecting it to be pretty quiet tomorrow with average Saturday traffic," he said.

Rail problems

No Virgin trains between Euston and Hemel Hempstead/Milton Keynes

No trains to and from Paddington until 0400 BST Tuesday

Buses replace Wagn trains Huntingdon - Peterborough

Buses replace GNER trains Stevenage - Peterborough

Buses replace Virgin trains Newcastle - Edinburgh

Buses replace trains Cardiff - Swansea

"They may be a build-up again on Monday as people head back home but it is unlikely to be as busy as it has been today because of the weather."

Rail travellers have also been dealing with considerable disruption, caused by extensive engineering work.

London's Paddington station has been closed for the entire weekend for signalling work, meaning the Heathrow Express service has been cancelled.

Travellers getting on replacement buses at Hemel Hempstead station in Hertfordshire said the disruption to their journeys had been annoying.

"It's a real pain. What's normally a three-and-a-half hour journey is taking us something like six hours today," said one.

Weather cooling

"It's really bad scheduling. It shows no consideration to the passengers," said another.

The blue skies and high temperatures earlier in the week are expected to give way to cold winds in many areas by Saturday.

People are flocking to beaches like Herne Bay in Kent

A Met Office spokesman said: "We are going to see a major, major change in the weather over the next couple of days."

The best place to be for sunshine at the weekend will be western Scotland, while forecasters say there is a chance of snow in hilly areas in England and Wales.

"There's a risk of hail and thunder and a possibility of snow over the highest parts of the Welsh mountains and Pennines," said the spokesman.

"It won't really affect the general public too much, although a lot of people will probably base their instincts on this fine weather now and will choose to go hill walking. If they do they are in for a major shock."

By Monday, the bright spells will be back and it will be drier.

About 1.8 million Britons are expected to avoid the British weather and go abroad for the weekend.

The Association of British Travel Agents said Spain and its islands were popular spots.