Scotland prepares for busy Easter

Scottish airports are expecting a record number of passengers

Scotland's airports, railway stations and roads are preparing for one of the busiest weekends of the year.

BAA Scotland, which operates Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports, expects to handle a record number of more than 250,000 passengers over Easter.

About 61,500 passengers flew in and out of Scotland on Thursday.

Tourism chiefs said most trips would involve overnight stays in Scotland over the four days - about 35,000 of those by overseas visitors.

For those staying at home, all the major cities are holding Easter egg hunts for children, with the event in Edinburgh being billed as the largest free egg hunt in the world - with 10,000 eggs.

Thousands of people will be on the move this weekend

However, the annual Easter Cavalcade through the streets of the capital will not be held after organisers were asked to meet a policing bill thought to be more than £4,000.

Shopping centres are also expecting a flurry of activity, with outdoor goods such as garden furniture usually popular at this time of year.

The Scottish Retail Consortium has estimated that £650m is likely to be spent in Scotland in the week running up to Sunday - £100m more than the average weekly spend in the Easter month.

The best day for weather was expected to be Good Friday, with the best of the weather in the Lothians and Borders areas.

However , Deputy Rural Development Minister Rhona Brankin appealed to walkers and climbers to stay alert and carry proper equipment as wintry weather is possible in some areas over the weekend.