Boozy Britons enjoy a night out at the start of the Bank Holiday

Get your pints (before they cost you a tenner)! Thirsty Britons swill away their cost of living woes with a boozy night out as they hit the streets of Leeds and Newcastle at the start of a barmy August bank holiday weekend

Thousands of Britons began the bank holiday weekend out with friends in bars, clubs and restaurants
Cities like Newcastle and Leeds saw groups of young people enjoying the pleasant evening temperatures
Although, people travelling by car faced significant delays with long queues on motorways leaving London

Thousands of Britons kicked off the bank holiday last night with a boozy night out ahead of expected 24C temperatures this weekend.

In Newcastle, the city was packed with revelers, including stag parties and young people who spent the evening in bars, clubs and restaurants in the city.

Despite predictions that inflation was set to hit almost 15 per cent and energy bills were going to rocket, it did not dampen the spirits of those out in the city last night.

There were similar scenes in Leeds in the weeks before students are due to return to college after their extended summer break.

The rampant inflation combined with the cost of fuel could see the price of a pint shoot towards the £10 mark.

Hospitality businesses say in a new report they expect to raise prices again as costs increase, with prices already having gone up by nine per cent in the last year.

A group of friends on a stag night were seen out last night in Newcastle which was packed with revelers despite continued concern over the cost of living crisis

In Leeds last night, these two girls hugged each other in the city centre after enjoying the start of the bank holiday weekend

Young people in the city last night seemed willing to ignore inflation predicted to hit 14 per cent and record gas and electricity prices

Some of those in the city appeared to need a bit more assistance than normal while trying to make their way home last night

The Met Office said this weekend should feature warm weather although not as hot as recent weeks, with temperatures predicted to hit 24C

In June, hospitality trade analysts CGA reported the most expensive pint it had found was in London and priced at £8. The new figures mean that pint of beer would cost £8.48 this time next year.

An average pint in the UK was £2.30 in 2008, but the price of pints has increased since then by 72 per cent to an average of £3.95 in 2022.

In London, an average pint costs far higher at £5.50, according to finder.com, and prices continue to increase.

Higher costs across the hospitality sector will also push up prices for takeaways, bars, clubs and hotels over the next 12 months.

The Met Office gave partygoers good news as the country will continue to bask in ‘long sunny spells’ as warm as Portugal over the bank holiday weekend as the drought continues.

Widespread sunshine on Sunday and Monday will only be dampened by isolated showers on Saturday, in ‘average’ conditions that holidaymakers can rely upon, the Met Office said.

These two stylish ladies walked through the centre of Newcastle last night after enjoying the start of the Bank Holiday weekend

Despite the warm conditions, this gentleman wore a jumper while his friend eschewed a jacket given the minimal threat of rain

Temperatures are on course to peak at 24C in London, far below the UK’s recent 40C heatwave, though this will be as warm as Lisbon in Portugal.

The 10 areas of England still in drought status will remain ‘very, very dry’, the Met Office said, in a settled spell for the Reading and Leeds festivals and Notting Hill carnival.

Dan Stroud, a forecaster at the Met Office, said ‘west is best’ for those seeking the sunniest weather, in the West Country and Wales, though London is set to be warmest.

‘There will be some decent sunny spells throughout the weekend and feeling warm in the sunshine, with temperatures generally in the low to mid 20s across England and Wales and in the high teens to 20C in the north.

‘Saturday will be largely dry and settled with high pressure dominating the picture.

‘Although there is a mix of sunny spells and a chance of a few scattered showers across England and Wales during the course of Saturday, those showers will be mostly light.

This man went down on one knee while brandishing three flower stems for a lady last night in Newcastle City centre

This lady appears to have enjoyed her evening in Newcastle yesterday as she posed for a photographer in the city centre

A number of men were spotted wearing oversized novelty sunglasses in Newcastle City centre last night

Some of those enjoying last night’s festivities took a rest on a low wall in Newcastle City Centre before continuing on their way home

Some of those out for the night decided to have a quick snack on the steps outside a Newcastle takeaway following their party on Friday

In Leeds last night, this lady is doubled-over laughing as she and her friends make their way home after a night out

One girl continued to talk to a friend in Leeds last night as two men tried to fix a strap on her shoe which appeared to have worked its way loose

‘Into Sunday, it is largely fine and dry with plenty of sunny spells, temperatures slightly above average in the south so feeling warm in the sunshine.

‘We are seeing cloudier skies across north west Scotland with outbreaks of light rain and drizzle.

‘For Bank Holiday Monday itself, it is still rather cloudy in the far northwest of Scotland with a low chance of patchy rain, elsewhere mainly fine and dry with plenty of sunny spells.

‘It’s going to be a case of west is best.

‘There is a bit of an easterly wind, nothing unpleasant, so cloudier skies across North Sea coast areas.’

Tens of thousands of revellers will attend the Reading and Leeds festivals between Friday and Sunday, with the rapper Dave and the Arctic Monkeys among the headliners.

Meanwhile, the Notting Hill Carnival in west London will return from Saturday to Monday for the first time since the pandemic, with two million people expected to celebrate.

Torrential downpours battered the UK this week following the UK’s second heatwave of the summer amid a yellow thunderstorm warning, with one part of Essex seeing more than an inch of rain in just one hour.

But as of Wednesday, the UK had only 46 per cent of the average total rainfall for August.

These two ladies held tightly onto their phones as they walked down the street in Leeds City centre last night

The ongoing dry weather has seen drought declared across swathes of England, with parched grass and struggling crops, streams drying up and river, reservoir and aquifer levels low, and hosepipe bans brought in for millions as heatwaves pushed up demand for water.

Forecasters are yet to spot a sustained period of above-average rainfall, which is needed to end the drought.

Though, Bank Holiday travellers face a weekend of chaos as half of drivers take to the roads and rail engineering works affect major routes.

It comes after train stations, airports and motorways were packed yesterday with people trying to make the most of the long weekend.

The AA and RAC last night warned of potential gridlock on some key motorways and major A-roads across the Bank Holiday. Network Rail also warned train passengers to check before they travel as track and signalling upgrades mean several lines will either be closed or have reduced timetables.

Tens of millions are set to be on the move over the next three days due to a bumper weekend of events. Reading and Leeds festivals began yesterday, with Notting Hill Carnival in west London starting today.

Bank Holiday travellers face a weekend of chaos as half of drivers take to the roads and rail engineering works affect major routes

The Birmingham Weekender and Cardiff and Manchester Pride events are also taking place.

Of around 15million drivers expected to take to the roads this weekend, an estimated 4.2million set off yesterday. At least another 2.3million are expected to get in their cars today.

Yesterday, huge queues of vehicles built up travelling southbound on the M5 motorway past Bristol, and big waits met getaway traffic on the M25 near the Dartford Crossing in Kent.

It was busy too at Stansted airport train station in Essex as well as King’s Cross in central London, as many people prepared to go on holiday. Millions of families are expected to embark on ‘last hurrah’ leisure trips over the final weekend before schools return amid predictions of fine weather and high temperatures in some areas.

It came as easyJet was yesterday forced to cancel dozens of flights between the UK and Portugal over the weekend due to a ground-handlers strike there.

The budget carrier was forced to ground at least 25 flights, affecting nearly 4,000 travellers.

Figures show 900 flights have been cancelled over the Bank Holiday weekend since July 1. Meanwhile, the AA said drivers face the worst disruption on the M4 and M5 interchange near Bristol, M5 between Taunton and Exeter, M1 between the M25 and Newport Pagnell, the M6 and M42 interchange near Birmingham and the Liverpool to Manchester section of the M62.

The organisation, which has issued a rare ‘amber’ traffic warning, is urging travellers to pack water to stay hydrated in the event of gridlocks.

The RAC’s Rod Dennis said: ‘We’re expecting busy roads to continue throughout this bank holiday weekend, especially to major holiday destinations with people eager to enjoy some time away before the new school terms begin in England and Wales.’

In a fresh blow for rail travellers after crippling strikes, there will be reduced timetables and bus replacement services on swathes of the network due to the £90million engineering works project.

There will be no trains from or to Charing Cross station in London for three days. There will also be disruption on the West Coast Main Line, which links the capital with the Midlands and North, between Euston and Northampton.

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