Many headed for the coast, with most of the country enjoying temperatures that reached 21.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday, according to the Met Office. It was the hottest day of the year so far on Good Friday, when high 23.4 degrees Celsius was recorded in St James’s Park in London – warmer than Ibiza. The seven miles of beaches in Bournemouth attracted some of the largest crowds of the year. Offshore car parks in Cornwall were also crowded as holidaymakers headed to beaches and pubs. The Easter getaway has been disrupted by staff shortages at the country’s airports and the closure of part of the network. Liverpool and Manchester City fans traveling for the FA Cup at Wembley have been told to avoid train travel due to the closed 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 firefighters called for fire and explosions at an industrial plant near RAF Welford. There was a huge puff of smoke from the highway. At an Easter egg hunt in Brighton yesterday. Photo: Sarah Elwick The Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said the fire involved “potential fireworks and fireworks”. No injuries were reported. To the southeast, motorists encountered a dead end after a collision in Surrey and a police incident at Dartford Crossing stopped traffic, with six-mile setbacks reported on the M25 on Saturday afternoon. Motorists also experienced delays near Bristol and Birmingham, although traffic yesterday is not believed to be as heavy as on Good Friday, according to the AA, which estimates that about 27.6 million trips will be made in total during the year. “Busier than usual” bank holiday weekend. Boxing hares in a field near York Photo: Charlotte Graham The RAC suggested that the best time to travel on the main roads on Sunday is after 3 p.m. and then either before 10:30 on Easter Monday tomorrow or after 18:30 to avoid long queues. There have also been reports of fuel shortages, with the Gasoline Retailers Association, which represents independent courtyards, saying it was protesting at several points of supply. Meanwhile, after weeks of delays and a baggage fiasco at UK airports, there has been some good news from Heathrow and Manchester. A man flying from Heathrow wrote on the internet that it only took him three hours to get from Wakefield to the airport and through security. Another wrote: “Despite all the titles, Heathrow Airport was a breeze with check-in and security. “And now we have more than two hours to kill.” And in Manchester, one passenger wrote that “there was no queue for taxis to disembark – no check-in – very short security queue – in and up to the airport in 15 minutes”. At the port of Dover, traffic is also said to be running smoothly again after several days of delays caused by the suspension of ferry crossings to and from Calais by P&O Ferries. The Met Office said temperatures on Saturday were above average for mid-April, with the highest temperature of 21.6 C recorded at Chivenor, near Barnstaple in Devon. Dan Stroud, of the Met Office, said it was a “glorious day in the south and southeast” in particular, with some clouds in other areas. Most southern and eastern areas are forecast to remain dry for the rest of the holiday weekend with sunshine, but there will be more erratic weather in the north and northwest.
