Easter weather and travel misery for UK
It's looking like a long weekend full of travel misery for those Brits not escaping the country for an Easter getaway.
Motorway traffic jams and severe wintry weather are predicted along with extensive railway engineering works over the four-day weekend.
According to the AA, six and a half million cars are expected on UK roads over the Easter break with peaks on Maundy Thursday and Bank Holiday Monday. The motoring organisation predicts that the unusual spread of school holidays this year will mean an extended month-long Easter period during which they will remain on high alert throughout.
Traffic hotspots identified by the AA include the M25, M1, M4, M6, M5 and M11. The organisation advises motorists to prepare fully before setting off this weekend.
"Motorists might be under the impression that, due to the very early timing of Easter this year and the fragmentation of school holidays, the roads will be much quieter than usual – but we don't expect this to be the case. This year everyone hitting the road for an Easter break will be setting off at the same time and on similar routes region by region so congestion could potentially be worse than usual.
"We always advise drivers to make careful preparations before setting out on a journey, including finding out about local traffic and weather conditions. Checking your car's coolant and oil levels, battery, tyre tread and pressures can all make for a much smoother, incident-free journey. With less than clement weather predicted this weekend, make sure you check your headlights and windscreen wipers too," said AA Patrol of the Year, Adam Ashmore.
There are scheduled engineering works on the following railways: East Coast, West Coast, Great Western, South West main lines and East Anglia/Essex coast line.
The BBC Weather website is currently showing early weather and flood warnings for the weekend as conditions are expected to turn colder with some snow in parts of the country. More than two million lucky travellers will be flying out of the UK for the long weekend.
Written by: Maxine Clarke
Be prepared and pre-book an airport hotel and parking with Holiday Extras at the market's best prices
Related News Articles
easyJet launches twinning campaign | Liverpool and Malaga - 12/12/2023
easyJet is spear-heading a campaign for Liverpool to be the first UK city to twin with Malaga, marking 10 years of easyJet flights between the two cities.Ryanair calls on passengers to vote | July 9, 2009 - 12/12/2023
Leading low-cost airline Ryanair is calling on its passengers to vote in an online poll to determine whether they would be willing to stand on short flights if it meant travelling for free.Calls for tax to be scrapped as Dublin Airport traffic falls | July 9, 2009 - 12/12/2023
Ryanair has again called on the Irish government to scrap the €10 travel tax as Dublin Airport's June traffic fell 14%.
