Sun-seekers and holidaymakers were left disappointed as downpours and blustery winds made it one of the wettest bank holiday weekends for years.
For the second time this month, May failed to deliver a hot and sunny long weekend, with central and southern England bearing the brunt of the foul weather. The most sodden place was St Catherine's Point on the Isle of Wight, where 74mm of rain fell over a 24-hour period which ended yesterday morning.
Liscombe in Somerset was drowned in 31mm of rain over the same night, while temperatures drop-ped to a chilly 8C in much of central and eastern England. According to the Met Office, the unlucky residents of High Wycombe were forced to endure temperatures as low as 5C.
The poor conditions disrupted a number of events up and down the country. More than 100,000 people had been expected to attend the Luton International Carnival, but it was called off because of the bad weather.
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Over the whole weekend Bournemouth saw its sandy beaches deserted, and conditions were so bad in Exmouth, Devon, that the resort's annual sand sculpture competition was cancelled.
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The Association of British Travel Agents said a record 1.9 million people flew out of British airports to escape to sunnier climes. Spain was the most popular European destination with Florida being top of the long-haul resorts. The top five city-break destinations were Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin, Rome and Prague.
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The bad weather didn't extend everywhere yesterday. South-west England, west Wales, west Scotland and much of Northern Ireland experienced some sunshine. The conditions were much worse than the equivalent bank holiday last year, when temperatures reached a sunny 17C (62.6F) and the heaviest rainfall measured only 11mm.
source: Roy Sharp, The Independent, http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2591513.ece
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