Who needs a foreign holiday anyway? Staycationers enjoy Bournemouth and Blackpool sun as temperatures soar to 79F – while Ibiza is shrouded in rain and cloud

•  Britons basked in sunshine as they descended upon Blackpool beach today amid rising temperatures
• Hundreds of visitors poured onto the iconic beach to enjoy the warm weather as temperatures 
• Came as tourists in the popular holiday destination of Ibiza were spotted sheltering under their umbrellas

Britons basked in the glorious sunshine as they descended upon beaches in Bournemouth and Blackpool today as the nation gears up for temperatures to climb to 79F this weekend.

Hundreds of visitors poured onto the iconic beaches to enjoy the warm weather as temperatures while others were spotted paddle boarding at Cullercoats Bay, in North Tyneside, as they prepared for a sizzling weekend ahead.  

Meanwhile in London, sun-seekers lay on the grass in Wimbledon Common as the sun made its comeback to the capital. 

The scenes, which follow a washout week across the nation, came as tourists in the popular holiday destination of Ibiza were spotted sheltering under their umbrellas as the island was hit with heavy downpours today as temperatures reached 73F.  

The sizzling weather, which comes after a May that has been the wettest on record for some areas, could see temperatures reach 79F in London and East Anglia later today.  

The UK’s previous warmest day had been on March 30, when Kew in West London hit 76.1F (24.5C).

Last month, wet weather dominated, with Wales recording 200.7mm of rain – double the monthly average – making it the wettest May in records dating back to 1862. 

Hundreds of people pour onto the beach in Bournemouth, Dorset, to enjoy the sizzling temperatures as mercury levels rise across the nation

Britons descended upon Blackpool beach today as the sizzling sun made a return following a week of heavy downpours across the nation

Sun-seekers lie down on the grass at Wimbledon Common, in London, as hot weather once again returns to the capital 

Meanwhile in the popular holiday destination of Ibiza, people were spotted sheltering themselves from the rain as the island was hit by heavy downpours

In Santa Eulària des Riu, Ibiza, people carry umbrellas as the party resort is hit by heavy showers this morning

But the positive forecast could now see throngs of holiday makers racing to the coast in an effort to enjoy the balmy weather. 

This week temperature records for the year were smashed on Wednesday with the high in the capital, while parts of Surrey and Kent also saw temperatures of between 81F (27C) and 82F (28C).

The village of Hawarden in Flintshire reached 79.9F (26.5C) to become Wales’ own warmest day of the year.

And Scotland also recorded its hottest days of 2021 with Achnagart reaching 75.9F (25.4C).

And the 73.9F (23.3C) in Ballywatticock, Northern Ireland, matched its previous warmest day of the year.

The scenes of Britons flocking to the outdoors comes amid a spike in cases of the Indian ‘Delta’ Covid variant.

Yesterday, Professor Neil Ferguson warned the Indian ‘Delta’ variant could be 100 per cent more infectious than the Kent one as official data showed it’s also twice as likely to put unvaccinated patients in hospital. 

Professor Ferguson – a senior SAGE modeller dubbed ‘Professor Lockdown’ for his death predictions that prompted the first shutdown last March – warned the emerging evidence about the Indian ‘Delta’ variant was not positive ‘in any respect’.

In Cullercoats Bay, in North Tyneside, paddle boarders and canoeists enjoy the sunshine and sparkling seas 

The scenes, which follow a washout week across the nation, came as tourists in the popular holiday destination of Ibiza were spotted sheltering under their umbrellas as the island was hit with heavy downpours today as temperatures reached 73F

Paddle boarders splashed into the sea Cullercoats Bay, in North Tyneside, as they prepared for a sizzling weekend ahead

He said the mutant Covid strain was between 30 and 100 per cent more virulent than the previously dominant Kent variant and that ‘a good central estimate’ would be 60 per cent.

A study published last night also suggested that the Pfizer vaccine worked less well at preventing infections of the Indian version, with people given that jab producing fewer antibodies targeting the virus compared to other strains.

Public Health England for the first time this week confirmed the new variant was dominant in the UK, replacing the Kent version.

Asked about whether the new evidence would put England’s June 21 ‘Freedom Day’ in jeopardy, Professor Ferguson said the data ‘is pointing in a more negative direction than it was last week.’

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘It points towards the direction of being cautious. I think balancing, clearly, people’s desire – and there clearly is a built-up desire to get back to normal – against the potential risk is a very difficult judgment call.’   

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