It may not have been a scorcher, but there are no complaints about the Bank Holiday weather

After two chilly and rain-ruined bank holidays in May, the sun finally came out to play for the last official long weekend of the summer.

It may not have been a "scorcher", but in a season of seemingly endless downpours no one was complaining yesterday at the sight of sunshine and the rare luxury of a rain-free few days.

Seaside resorts and rural areas have been hit hard by a severe downturn in tourism caused by the wet weather.

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But with forecasters finally predicting good weather, millions of Britons headed to the beaches and parks or just soaked up the rays in their back garden.

The south-east and southern areas of the country enjoyed the best conditions, with temperatures rising to a maximum of 24 C (75f).

It was a far cry from the two bank holidays in May when most parts of the country saw prolonged or heavy showers and plunging temperatures. On Spring bank holiday monday at the end of May, Heathrow Airport's daytime maximum temperature of 7.9 C was the second coldest on record and Letchworth in Herts endured 54 mm of rain.

In June music lovers wallowed in a muddy quagmire at the Glastonbury Festival because of prolonged heavy-rain.

Yesterday thousands attending the Carling music festivals in Reading and Leeds were finally able to ditch the wellies and slap-on the suncream.

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More than 18 million vehicles were expected to hit the roads over the Bank Holiday break. Yesterday almost a third of people enjoying the long-weekend headed to the seaside, according to the AA.

Brighton, Bournemouth and Blackpoor were among the top destinations, with car parks, beaches and coastal routes packed.

At Bournemouth an estimated 150,000 visitors were expected over the weekend. Hundreds were already on the beach by 9 am to save the best spots and by lunchtime, with temperatures soaring to the mid-70s, there was an eight mile jam on the A31 as trippers headed to the coast.

One beach sunbather Emily Johnson, 28, said: "I guess we have been so starved of the sun this summer that everyone just wants to make the most of it. The weather is lovely and if it carried on into next week I may have to call in sick at work!"

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It was a similar picture in seaside resorts in North Wales and on the east coast, with many hotels and guest houses reporting a rush of last minute bookings.

A Met Office spokesman said although temperatures would dip by "a degree or so" today, England and Wales should remain dry and warm for the rest of the week. He said temperatures were expected to be between 20 C and 22 C in many areas and warmest in the south-east.

Despite the improvement in conditions, bookmakers William Hill have lengthened the odds of temperatures reaching 100f in 2007 to 8-1.

Coastguards repeated advice to be careful when on the beach or in the sea following the results of a survey on public safety.

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The survey carried out by the Coastguard and Maritime Agency revealed over half of people (56 per cent) admitted they are less likely to be responsible on sunny days because they want to make the most of the good weather and have fun.

When the weather perks up, 37 per cent admitted they were more likely to want to go to the beach and do "silly" things.

A quarter also said they were more likely to throw caution to the wind and live dangerously.