Sunshine, warm weather, hay fever alerts ... can this really be a bank holiday weekend? A woman photographs her child sitting in the daffodils in St James's Park, central London. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA A bank holiday weekend of contrasting weather will see some families and friends lucky enough to dust off the barbecues while others huddle together to avoid frequent showers. The north-west of Scotland is unlikely to see the mercury rise above 10C, while the south-east and East Anglia bask in temperatures of up to 23C. However, a band of cloud moving from south to north will drag with it milder air on Sunday with blue skies emerging as that band starts to break up. Roads will be busy for the early May holiday, particularly those to the coast as sun-seekers look to make up for the disappointingly wet Easter. A spokesman for the Highways Agency advised drivers to check its website to see which routes might be congested. James Berresford, chief executive of Visit England, the English tourist board, said: "An improvement in the weather over the bank holiday should hopefully inspire people to get out and about and make the most of the long weekend." National Rail Enquiries said that many train operators were planning to run weekend services on bank holiday Monday, with engineering works planned on a number of lines. On Sunday and Monday, some London Midland services on parts of the line between London Euston and Crewe will be replaced by buses. Hay fever sufferers will not have such a great weekend, with high levels of pollen expected across England. The pollen count will increase as temperatures rise, with the worst conditions expected on Sunday and Monday, according to meteorologists. Alexander Burkill, a weather forecaster with the Met Office, explained: "It's the fact that it's going to be mostly dry, quite warm with generally lightish winds across much of England and Wales." He added that tree pollen would be more significant than grass pollen until the middle of May. People in the south-east will be particularly badly affected. While south-west England and Wales will experience only moderate levels of tree pollen on Monday, regions with higher temperatures towards the south-east of England will deal a double blow to hay fever sufferers as warm weather leads to higher levels of both tree and grass pollen. According to Meteogroup, part of the Press Association, the level of grass pollen this weekend should not be underestimated. Tom Tobler, a meteorologist with the group, said: "As we get more sunshine on Monday and it warms up in southern England, it could start edging into moderate pollen counts."