The UK has enjoyed record-breaking spring sunshine, with a high of 28.7C recorded at RAF Northholt in west London by the Met Office.
It marks the hottest day over the Early May Bank Holiday weekend since the holiday was introduced in 1978.
South-east England, the Midlands and East Anglia were the warmest spots.
The Met Office’s Charlie Powell said temperatures in the high 20s were “the exception rather than the rule” for the UK as a whole.
The Met Office said Scotland and Wales just missed out on breaking their own bank holiday weekend records but still enjoyed their hottest day of the year so far with 23.1C recorded at Charterhall, Berwickshire, and 25.7C at Usk.
The 23.6C record for the Early May Bank Holiday Monday – set in 1999 – was broken when Herstmonceux in East Sussex reached 24.2C.
The previous record for an overall Early May Bank Holiday temperature was set in 1995, when 28.6C was recorded on the Saturday of the long weekend.
☀☀ It is currently 27.6 °C @HeathrowAirport The warmest early May #BankHolidayWeekend record to beat is 28.6 °C set in 1995…. ☀☀☀ pic.twitter.com/UyX5h5PrBL
— Met Office (@metoffice) May 7, 2018
The average high for the Early May Bank Holiday in London is about 18C.
The high in Belfast on Monday was 19.5C, while Cambridge, Rochdale and Sheffield all saw temperatures of about 26C.
But not every area enjoyed blue skies and high temperatures, with the northern coast of Devon and Cornwall seeing low cloud, mist and sea fog and a high of only 11C at some locations, including Polzeath.
Much of the UK has seen blue skies and sunshine across the three-day holiday weekend, leading to busy roads and overcrowded trains as people flock to the coast.
Temperatures peaked on Sunday at 26C in Northolt.
