Millions of Britons are bracing for travel disruption this bank holiday weekend, with heatwave conditions and a surge in holidaymakers risking chaos on popular routes.
The AA predicts 23.4 million car journeys will take place on Friday alone. Motorists are warned to anticipate severe delays, particularly on routes heading towards east coast destinations like Skegness, the M4 from London towards Wales, and the M6 connecting to the north-west coast. The RAC also anticipates leisure traffic will peak across both Friday and Saturday.
Cross-Channel travel is also set to be exceptionally busy. The Port of Dover in Kent is preparing for 18,000 travellers between Friday and Sunday, advising that the busiest periods each day will be between 6am and approximately 1pm. Saturday is expected to be the port’s busiest day of the year so far, with more than 8,000 passengers.
Meanwhile, Britain’s railways face a challenging weekend due to a combination of strike action and extensive engineering works. Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) are staging walkouts on Friday and Saturday in a dispute over pay, which will severely impact West Midlands Railway (WMR) and London Northwestern Railway services. Timetables will be significantly reduced on both days, with no WMT trains operating after 7pm on Friday or before 7am on Saturday.
Network Rail’s planned engineering work will also shut down parts of key intercity lines. The East Coast Main Line will be closed between York and Darlington from Saturday through to Monday. Additionally, buses will replace trains between Newport and Bristol Parkway for two weeks starting Saturday. Commuters and travellers to airports will also be affected, as there will be no Thameslink services through central London between Saturday and Monday, impacting routes to Gatwick and Luton airports.
Travel trade organisation Abta reports a significant increase in families heading off on holiday, marking the start of half-term breaks for many schools. There is strong demand for short-haul sunshine holidays in popular destinations such as mainland Spain, Italy, the Balearic and Canary Islands, and Portugal, alongside city breaks in Milan, Nice, and Barcelona.
For those staying closer to home, parking app company RingGo’s analysis of recent bank holiday periods suggests Saturday will likely be the busiest day for coastal towns and cities, including Bournemouth, Hastings, and Torquay. The company noted that seaside towns are "consistently outperforming inland locations" in terms of recorded parking sessions during bank holidays.
Adding to the weekend’s intensity, the Met Office has forecast a heatwave for parts of the country. Temperatures are expected to peak on Monday, with southern England and the Midlands potentially seeing highs of 33C.
