Baby Ace: UK weather: Britain will bask in weekend sunshine as burgers and sausages fly off shelves

By

Harriet Arkell

Spring may have sprung only two weeks ago, but much of Britain enjoyed warm sunshine today, and forecasters said the unseasonably good weather was set to last over the weekend.

Temperatures are expected to soar – reaching as high as 19C on the south coast tomorrow, a far cry from this time last year when Britain was blanketed by snow.

Supermarkets said sales of burgers were up 121 per cent compared to this time last year, and sausage sales up 38 per cent, as people across Britain prepared to fire up their barbecues for the first time this year.

The sun rose over a perfectly still Lake Vyrnwy, in Powys, Wales, this morning, reflecting the stunning landscape as Britain enjoyed unseasonably warm weather

Sunshine and daffodils: The sun shone on the East Cornwall Hunt yesterday as horses and hounds met at Pentille Castle, St Mellion, for the first time in more than 100 years

Student Valerie Spell made the most of the weather as she lay down in a bed of daffodils in Egham, Surrey, today – the sun is forecast to shine all weekend

Ancient tradition: Horses and riders enjoyed brilliant spring sunshine in Cornwall yesterday as they met at Pentillie Castle near St Mellion

Stunning landscape: The rising sun showed off Lake Vyrnwy in Powys to perfection this morning, and more warm days are forecast

Forecast: Britain will continue to enjoy today

Forecast: Britain will continue to enjoy today’s long sunny spells into the weekend, with rain showers in north west Scotland and just a little cloud cover on Sunday

The warm weather has brought out the spring bulbs: horticulturist Louise Hay enjoys some of the fruits of the 25,000 bulbs planted last December at the Eden Project in Cornwall

Meanwhile, the unusually warm conditions

has meant that ripe English strawberries are in stock a week earlier than

they were a year ago, prompting soft fruit sales at Waitrose to rise by

12 per cent.

Garden plants sales are also up, and gardeners will have plenty of time to bed their new plants in as long sunny spells are forecast for most of Britain tomorrow and Sunday, and the weather is not expected to break until Tuesday.

A Met Office spokesman said the warm conditions – the south of England is forecast to be hotter than Cairo and Algiers this weekend – were a far cry from last March when the average temperature for the month was just 5.1C.

Forecaster Nicola Maxey said: ‘We are looking at temperatures in the mid to high teens, reaching 19C on the south coast tomorrow, with just showers of rain in the north west of Scotland.’

Sunday will be dry and sunny, although a little cloudier than Saturday, and temperatures should stay relatively high until early next week, when they will drop back to 10C or 11C.

A Waitrose spokesman said: ‘This weekend’s mild temperatures are reflected in our sales figures, with burgers up 121 per cent, sausage sales also up 38 per cent, and a 700 per cent increase on our sales of garden plants compared to this time last year.’

Managers at Tesco said they were expecting a rush on sausages, ice cream and berries, while at Marks and Spencer they said ice cream sales had already doubled on this time last week.

Britain

Britain’s blooming: In York, temperatures rose to 17C as a chihuahua had to leap over crocuses nearly as tall as her in the museum gardens this morning

Stunning sunrise: As dawn broke over Lake Vyrnway, Powys, this morning, the flat surface of the water reflected the glow of the rising sun

Stunning start to the day: As dawn broke over Lake Vyrnwy, a Victorian reservoir in Montgomeryshire, the light produced beautiful reflections on the surface of the water

Beautiful weekend: Most of Britain is set to enjoy unseasonably high temperatures this weekend, resulting in a rush on burgers and sausages, say supermarkets

The warm weather smiled on the East Cornwall Hunt as it met at Pentille Castle – the hunt was founded at the castle, near St Mellion, now owned by Ted Coryton, in 1873

There was a good turn out for the East Cornwall Hunt

There was a good turn out for the East Cornwall Hunt’s meet at Pentillie Castle, a 19th century estate overlooking the Tamar Valley in Cornwall

Many people left their winter coats behind for the first time this year as the sun bathed much of the country in its warmth today – hunt followers in Cornwall were just in shirtsleeves

Smile! A couple of huntswomen take a selfie as they enjoy the sunshine at Pentille Castle in St Mellion yesterday – their mounts looked less than impressed, however

History: The Victorian hunting horn that once belonged to the hunt

History: The Victorian hunting horn that once belonged to the hunt’s founder, William Coryton, was blown by current master and huntsman, Graham Higgins

Feels like summer: Two friends relaxed in the sunshine on the banks of the Thames in Windsor today, watched by a swan

An early morning mist at Lake Vyrnwy, Powys, in Wales cast a reflection of the landscape onto the water

An early morning mist at Lake Vyrnwy, Powys, in Wales cast a reflection of the landscape onto the water’s surface, and the sun soon burnt off the mist

In London

In London’s St James’s Park, a young woman relaxes amongst the daffodils as she enjoys the sunshine – particularly welcome after one of the wettest winters on record

Students Georgina Thomas and Valerie Spell enjoyed the feeling on the sun on their skin as they sat among the spring flowers in Egham, Surrey, today

MS buyer Mark Connell said: ‘Figures are up an impressive 50 per cent this week already on ice cream, due to the warm weather, and we’re expecting sales of rose wine to double this weekend.’

Meanwhile, the improving weather conditions meant that the owner of a car which was submerged during the floods has been reunited with it after two and a half months.

Hubert Zajaczkowski, 21, abandoned his Seat Toledo near Muchelney, Somerset, on Christmas Eve when water levels rose knee-deep, and he had to escape by climbing out through the window and onto the back of a passing Land Rover.

Over the next few weeks the water levels continued to rise until all but a small patch of the car’s roof was visible, a patch that was seen by Prime Minister David Cameron and Prince Charles as they toured the flood-stricken area by boat.

Hubert Zajaczkowski had to abandon his Seat Toledo on Christmas Eve as water levels rose – now the floods have gone down, he has been able to recover the ruined car

The car, which was stuck in a flood in Muchelney, Somerset, became a symbol of the devastation suffered in the west country by this winter

The car, which was stuck in a flood in Muchelney, Somerset, became a symbol of the devastation suffered in the west country by this winter’s floods

Mr Zajaczkowski, 21, said he found an inch of mud teeming with maggots, worms and leeches when he was finally able to get back into his flooded car after 11 weeks

Now the water has subsided and Hubert, from Shepton Mallet, was finally reunited with the Seat he bought two years ago for £600.

He said: ‘It was there for 11 weeks in the end, but this week we managed to get to it and put it on a truck to be taken away – there is nothing worth saving and it is going to be scrapped.

‘There was about an inch of gunk at the bottom and it was full of worms, leeches and bugs.’