Britain ' s blazing Bank Holiday : Sunseekers around the country flock to the water ' s edge and enjoy temperatures as high as 22 . 2 CTemperatures soared across the UK today , peaking at 21 C in Doncaster , South Yorkshire , and central London Britain has been hotter than many traditionally sunny European countries over the Bank Holiday weekendBut warm air moving in over cold sea water covered beaches along the south east with a thick mist By Daily Mail ReporterPUBLISHED : 07 : 35 GMT , 6 May 2013 | UPDATED : 20 : 07 GMT , 6 May 2013 Comments ( 201 ) Britons enjoyed basking in the sunshine today as temperatures soared to 22 . 2 C in one of the warmest Bank Holiday weekends the UK has seen in recent years - but forecasters warn rain is on the way on Wednesday . England and Wales were today warmer than many traditionally sunny European countries including the Med and Venice in Italy as temperatures peaked at 22 . 2 C in central London . However , although it was warm in most areas the temperatures today failed to better the hottest day of the year so far which was recorded as 73 F ( 23 . 1 C ) in Faversham , Kent , on April 25 th . There was a marked difference between the warmest and coldest places in Britain today , as Stornoway in the North West of Scotland reached a peek of only 9 . 5 C . Britons flocked to beaches around the country to make the most of the blistering heat , but many found themselves suddenly shrouded in a bizarre fog . Brighton may have been packed with sun worshipers but the temperature cooled when warm air moving in over cold sea water covered the beach with a thick sea mist . Full to the brim : Soaring temperatures brought huge Bank Holiday crowds to the beach at Brighton today Leisure time : Families and groups of friends packed out Brighton beach as they made the most of the extra day off work Making the most of it : Sunbathers enjoy the warm weather on Brighton beach on the last day of the Bank Holiday weekend today Decked out : Two friends relax on deck chairs on the beach in Brighton today Mist moving in : A thick sea mist moving eastwards along the British coastline approaches Brighton Beach Unusual : The thick sea fog covered much of the east coast of England , including Brighton , pictured , today as warm air moved in over cool water Phenomenon : A sea fog caused by warm air passing over the chilly water covers the beach at Wittering in West Sussex Shrouded in mist : The sea fog kept temperatures down as the sun struggled to break through A misty start to May : Sea mist also covered the area around St Catherine ' s Chapel and much of the Dorset coast Mystical : Corfe Castle in Dorset surrounded by sea mist which moved up along the eastern coastline today The rare sea fog left many sun - seekers in Bournemouth and Sussex struggling to even see a few metres in front of them , let alone soak up any sun , after a clear sky was quickly replaced with thick mist moving in off the ocean . The weather phenomenon is caused by warm air passing over the chilly sea water , which is much cooler than normal after the cold weather in March , and turning into mist . The sea mist , which slowly edged eastwards along England ' s coastline throughout the day , kept the temperature down until it gradually began to clear and the sun broke through . The mist developed along the south coast over night , and was gone in the East by mid day but there is still fog in the west between Dorset and Cornwall . Tweet tweet : Victoria Beckham only had to go to her back garden for a spring treat as she found a nest of newly hatched chicks Busy : Hundreds of families spent the day enjoying the sun on the beach in West Wittering in West Sussex Packed out : Sun seekers struggle to find any space on the beach at West Wittering in West Sussex after rare sea fog finally cleared Scenic : Hundreds of sunseekers flocked to Tynemouth baech , North Tyneside today to enjoy the warm bank holiday weather Buds of May : Isabella , aged five , pictured right , and Lola Ward , aged three , play in Britain ' s last tulip field near King ' s Lynn , Norfolk , today Contrasting colours : Isabella Ward enjoys the sunshine among the colourful tulips in Britain ' s last remaining bulbfields Calum Maccoll , forecaster at the Met Office , said : ' The sea temperature is nine degrees celcius , it should be in the double figures but the cold March has brought it right down . ' As it takes a long time to warm up it is colder than it normally would be at this time of year , and as mild air is passing over the surface , mist is being created . ' Photographer James Boardman said the creeping mist was incredibly eerie and so thick it was impossible to see the beach from Brighton ' s pier . He said : ' I ' ve seen sea mist before but nothing like this . It was coming and going all morning . one minute it would be sunny and the next there was suddenly thick mist that came on with very little warning . ' Standing on the pier , it was difficult to even make out the beach . You could have just as easily been out in the middle of the Channel . ' It was very eerie . A lot of people on the beach were taking pictures and saying how strange it was . No one panicked or got scared though - everyone just waited it out so they could enjoy the sunshine again . ' The mist finally moved away around 1 . 30 pm but it looked like it was moving further up the coast . ' Sun in the capital : Londoners flocked to Richmond to experience the sun in a classic setting Riverbank : People enjoying the hot sunny weather on the Bank Holiday Monday in London and surrounding areas Taking to the water : Richmond saw dozens of locals use the River Thames and go on boats Battle ground : Sir Jasper , pictured left , and Sir Sam , pictured right , from the Knights of Royal England perform in a jousting tournament at Blenheim Palace , near Woodstock , Oxfordshire Swordplay : Lord Ashley , pictured left , and Sir Sam , pictured right , from the Knights of Royal England go head to head in jousting tournament at Blenheim Palace , near Woodstock , Oxfordshire Lush day : A crowded beach on Barry Island , south Wales , as the sun comes out on Bank Holiday Monday Ready , set , go ! Youngsters enjoying the weather by jumping into the sea with an inflatable killer whale at Barry Island , Wales Catching fire : Fire crews tackle a large grass fire on Cannock Chase in Staffordshire - designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty This weekend has still been a big improvement on last year ' s Bank Holiday weekend , which saw rain and a temperature high of 16 C ( 60 . 8 F ) at Exeter Airport . Londoners took to the River Thames as thousands travelled to idyllic Richmond to soak up the sun . In the south of Wales , hundreds of people enjoyed the beach at Barry Island , a resort that was featured in BBC ' s Gavin & Stacey . The beach was packed , with youngsters throwing themselves from the pier into the sea to cool off . Met Office forecaster Calum McColl said : ' Most places had a sunny , dry Bank Holiday and even Tuesday will be fine in most places . ' On Saturday temperatures reached 18 C in Lincolnshire and 18 . 3 C in Cambridge before climbing to 20 . 9 C at Hol Beach in Lincolnshire and Aberdeenshire yesterday . Playtime : Rosie Plain , seven , and Keyan Goedvree , five , collect wet sand in their buckets to build sandcastles on Southsea beach this morning Waiting in line : Traffic backed up along the A 23 into Brighton today as many headed to the coast to enjoy the sun Plenty of room : But there were only a handful of families enjoying the sun on Britain ' s newest beach in Colwyn Bay - because so few people know it is there Big job : More than 500 , 000 tonnes of sand was transported to Colwyn Bay over the last four weeks to create the new beach Perfect day for a match : Crowds bask in the hot sunshine during day five of the Badminton Horse Trials in Badminton , Gloucestershire Say cheese : Sisters Chloe Johnson , five , and Leigha Johnson , three , play on a pebble beach near Clarance Esplanade in PortsmouthBut the upward trend ends today , with temperatures remaining warm in the south tomorrow before the weather turns cloudy and unsettled on Wednesday . Forecaster Mr McColl continued : ' By midweek there will be a few showers developing and if you get caught underneath one of those you ' ll know about it as it will be on the heavy side . ' The worst hit parts will be in the north , but the south won ' t be immune to the wet weather . ' He said a band of rain coming in from the West will bring more unsettled weather for the rest of the week . Relaxing on the river : People relax on their boats in the early morning sunshine in West London today River tour : Canal boats gather in Little Venice , London , for the Inland Waterways Association ( IWA ) Canalway Cavalcade , which has taken place in every year since 1983 Flying the flag : A man and a woman are camouflaged against a sea of flags flying from boats in Little Venice Gathering on the river : Around 130 boat owners enjoyed the sun moored up along a stretch of the Grand Union Canal in London Enjoying the ride : Border terriers Gyp , pictured left , and Pixie enjoy the sunny weather at the Canalway Cavalcade in Little Venice , London A day on the river : People enjoy the sunshine and punt on the River Cam in Cambridge today Idyllic conditions : People enjoy the sunshine and punt on the River Cam in Cambridge Boating : Locals and students took advantage of the conditions and punted on the river Mr McColl added : ' This will push through the rest of the country and although there will be some brighter spells it will bring showery conditions . ' People should probably bring an umbrella out with them if they don ' t want to get wet . ' As we head into the weekend it will probably be a bit drier but there will still be a few rogue showers about so make sure you ' re prepared . ' Busy beach : Suzanne Roberts , pictured right , and other young children take advantage of a day off from school to play on Blackpool beach Bouncing on the beach : Phoebe Asquith , 24 , from Scarborough , makes the most of a scorching hot Bank Holiday weather as she attempts to set the world record for a four mile space hopper bounce around Scarborough seafrontTesco expects to have sold one million sausages and 28 million bottles of beer over the weekend as families took the opportunity to hold barbecues and garden parties . Meanwhile , the warm weather has sparked a surge in demand for barbecues , with Asda reporting a sales increase of 142 per cent while Marks and Spencer said sales of its barbecue range The Grill are expected to double on last year . Meanwhile Superdrug has reported an increased demand for beauty products such as false toenails , wax strips and fake tan . Hay fever sufferers have also been warned about a steady rise in the pollen count as the weather heats up , with tomorrow expected to be the worst day . Alexander Burkill , of the Met Office , said tree pollen would be more significant than grass pollen until the middle of May . Sadly this weekend ' s heatwave is unlikely to be repeated . The Met Office ' s three - month forecast says May is likely to be colder than average because of chilly winds blowing across cold seas . June and July could also be cooler and more unsettled than usual , threatening the tennis at Wimbledon and Glastonbury music festival . Blooming marvellous : Loren Materacki walks through Cranborne , Dorset , where a cold spring has meant hundreds of bluebells have belatedly flowered in the recent heatwave Woodland wonder : Francesca Hammond , 34 , Amelia Hammond , four , and Isabella Hammond , eight , enjoy the bank holiday weather at Heartwood Forest near St Albans in Hertfordshire Extreme sun protection : Jane Mearns , 50 , from Ringwood , Dorset , with her Chinese Crested Hairless dogs , Luna , eight months old , pictured left , and Dr Watson , 16 months old , both wearing the onesies she ' s designed to protect them from sunburn Beside the seaside : A group of friends grab the perfect spot on the beach in Heacham , West NorfolkIt comes as the Environment Agency is warning that at least 55 of our most popular bathing sites will fail to meet new EU water cleanliness standards . The regulations that will decide whether a beach is fit for swimming are up to twice as strict as current rules and come into force in 2015 . Resorts likely to be ruled too polluted for bathing include Lyme Regis in Dorset , Blackpool in Lancashire and Southsea in Hampshire . Malcolm Bell , the head of Visit Cornwall , where several beaches are at risk , said : ' We are going to face a challenge to explain to people that things have not got worse , it is just that the hurdle is higher . ' Early riser : A cyclist rides through the New Forest , Hampshire , near Beaulieu , in the early hours this morning Beautiful start to the day : Silvia Kaplar , 23 , pictured on an early walk to catch the very first rays of the rising sun , near Beaulieu , Hampshire , today Morning mist : It was a slightly misty start to the day in the New Forest near Beauliue Breathtaking : A fisherman prepares to launch a vessel at Saltburn - by - the - Sea as the sun rises over the North Sea on a glorious start to Bank Holiday Monday Watching the sun come up : An early morning walker catches a glorious sunrise over Saltburn Pier on the North Sea coast this morning http : / / www . dailymail . co . uk / news / article - 2320103 / Britains - blazing - Bank - Holiday - Sunseekers - country - flock - waters - edge - enjoy - temperatures - high - 22 - 2 C . html # ixzz 2 SXu 2 GBnJ