Bank holiday: Brits enjoy a raucous night out on Saturday
The Swinging 2020s! Reveller performs acrobatics on scaffolding outside a kebab shop while others play a game of street cricket as Brits enjoy a raucous night out o three-day bank holiday weekend
With many enjoying the prospect of two more days off work ahead of them, boozy Brits hit the bars last nightCities across the country, including Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester and London played host to jubilant scenes Saturday was set to be the hottest day of the long weekend, with temperatures hitting highs of 76FForecasters have said ‘west is best’ when it comes to the rest of the three-day holiday, with Wales and south-west England expected to have most of the warm weather on Sunday and Monday
Scores of revellers up and down the country made the most of the weather and continued to party into the Bank Holiday weekend as they hit the towns and city centres for a drink-fuelled Saturday night-out.
With many enjoying the prospect of two more days off work ahead of them, boozy Britons flocked to bars and pubs across the country in their droves on the first day of the three-day weekend.
In Newcastle, one woman was seen doing her best Tarzan impression swinging on scaffolding outside a busy kebab shop, while a group of men in Leeds were pictured playing a game of street cricket.
Meanwhile in Manchester, large crowds of people were seen queuing to get into packed bars while the streets of London‘s Soho were lined with tables and chairs outside pubs – scenes that have become customary since the hospitality sector re-opened after the coronavirus lockdown.
NEWCASTLE: A woman was seen doing her best Tarzan impression swinging on scaffolding outside a busy kebab shop in Newcastle on Saturday night as scores of revellers made the most of the weather and continued to party into long weekend
NEWCASTLE: Two boozy people sit down on a flight of stone stairs on a night out in Newcastle on Saturday night. The woman on the right is shown with a cigarette in her hands as she chats to the man on the left
MANCHESTER: A group of friends smile and pose for the camera in Manchester City centre on Saturday night, as people made the most of the Bank Holiday weekend
LEEDS: A group of young women post on a bench in Leeds city centre on Saturday night
LEEDS: A group of men play a game a street cricket, using a plastic bat and a traffic cone for stumps, on Saturday night
The capital of Yorkshire in particular played host to jubilant scenes on Saturday evening, with young Leeds residents taking part in the Otley Run – a long, iconic bar-crawl through the city.
With many kitted out in fancy dress, people were seen giving each-other piggy-backs and playing cricket with a plastic bat and a traffic cone for stumps.
Others were shown climbing on top of benches in the streets and posing for photographs, while some took a much-needed time-out by sitting down on the floor.
In one photo, a woman was shown posing while being held up on her side by a group of friends outside a pub in Leeds city centre. Another photo showed a group of young party-goers dressed as Wally.
A woman is poses on her side while being carried by a group of friends in Leeds on Saturday night as people hit the bars
Pictured: A group of four friends take part in Leeds’ Otley Run bar crawl dressed as Wally from the ‘Where’s Wally’ books on Saturday night
Pictured: A group in fancy dress party in Leeds on Saturday evening as people made the most of the warm weather
Pictured: A young man gives a young woman a piggy back in Leeds on Saturday evening as they take part in the Otley Run bar crawl over the Bank Holiday weekend
Pictured: A group of friends do leg kicks in Leeds on Saturday night as people hit the bars over the Bank Holiday weekend
Time out: Three people sit on the floor in Leeds city centre on Saturday night as they look at their phone screens
Similarly exuberant scenes were seen in both Manchester and Newcastle on Saturday night, as people made the most of the hottest day over the Bank Holiday weekend.
People were seen queuing down the streets outside of trendy bars in Manchester city centre while further north in Newcastle, a man was seen laughing along with a police officer while gesturing at another person.
Elsewhere in the Tyneside city, two women were seen dancing together on the street while a man was pictured leaning against a raised fountain, both hands in his pockets, taking a nap.
Not to be out-done by their northern neighbours, Londoners were also out in force on Saturday night, with bar-goers lining the many currently pedestrianised streets of Soho.
The hottest day of the bank holiday is over, but bright spells will continue with western areas getting the best of the sunshine, the Met Office has said.
Forecasters have said ‘west is best’ when it comes to the rest of the three-day holiday, with Wales and south-west England expected to have most of the warm weather on Sunday and Monday.
Saturday has seen the most widespread fine weather, the mercury hitting highs of 76F (24.4C) in Strathallan, Scotland. While areas of Derbyshire hit 75F (24C), and Northern Ireland 73.5F (23C).
Pictured: A group of women queue outside a bar in Manchester. Manchester city centre was busy on Saturday night with party goers making the most of the bank holiday weekend
Pictured: People queue outside a bar in Manchester city centre on Saturday night as many people made the most of having two days to recover from a night on the town thanks to the last Monday Bank Holiday of the year
Pictured: A man is arrested by police in Newcastle on Saturday night over the Bank Holiday weekend
Pictured: A man slumps against a fountain in Newcastle on Saturday night, taking a nap on some steps with both his hands in his pockets and a bottle of beer on a step next to him
Pictured: A man in Newcastle laughs with a police officer as he points to someone on Saturday night
Pictured: Two women dance in front of a burger stall in Newcastle on Saturday night as people make the most of the Bank Holiday weekend
Pictured: Bar-goers sit outside of ‘Bar Soho’ in London’s Soho district, famous for its pubs, bars and nightlife, as people make the most of the last long weekend before Christmas
Pictured: Tables and chairs line a pedestrianised street in Soho on Saturday night as revellers enjoy being able to sit outside on the warmest day of the Bank Holiday weekend
Pictured: Two woman talk over a couple of drinks in London’s Soho district on Saturday night
It is set to get cloudier over what is left of the weekend, with Monday seeming cooler especially in the south east of England with occasional, light showers, despite temperatures remaining in the high teens.
Craig Snell, Met Office forecaster, told PA: ‘If you’re looking for the best day out of the weekend as a whole, then it was Saturday.
‘Overall, a lot of the UK had a good day today particularly in the west. And that trend seems set to continue.
‘Although it will gradually get cloudier from the east over the next two days, meaning it won’t be as warm, it’ll still be relatively dry in most places.
‘But, if you are looking for sunshine west is definitely best.’
Anyone looking to hop in a car and head to a destination to make the most of the fine and dry long weekend, will be joining millions of others as the RAC estimates that 16.7 million leisure trips will be made on UK roads between Friday and Monday.
Friday evening saw ‘bumper-to-bumper’ traffic on many of the country’s motorways – including the M1, M5, M6, M25 and M56 – as many left on their getaways.
Traffic was slow in certain areas, such as Cornwall and Devon, on Saturday morning as many headed to the coast.
Monday is also expected to be busy as people make their return journeys home. Roads in the south west of England, including the M5, are predicted to be worst affected.
