You ain't seen nothin' yet

7:00pm Monday 9th April 2007

If you thought the lovely Easter weather was too good to last, think again. Good Friday was good, but this Friday is likely to be even better with the mercury set to hit 70F on the South Coast.

Bournemouth weather expert Dr Richard Wild said: "The fine weather will last, until at least the end of this week with dry, sunny spells and calm to light winds.

"It will get gradually warmer, probably going up by a degree or so every day until the weekend when Dorset will see temperatures reaching the magical 70F."

He described the warm spell as unusual. "It has certainly been a good deal warmer than normal but a late Easter and high pressure have helped. People who are jetting away this week will be disappointed because it's set to be hotter here."

Dr Wild said it was too early to predict what's in store this summer but evidence from the Met office points to another sun-baked season.

By last night, Bournemouth was expected to have attracted 60,000 weekend visitors. While many made tracks for home, causing inevitable traffic jams, others decided to stay put after hearing the week's weather forecast.

Michelle Duquenoy from Bournemouth Tourism said: "Our staff have been rushed off their feet. They had up to 8,000 inquiries on Saturday alone. Most hotels experienced a late rush in phone and Internet bookings. People made last-minute decisions to come - it was the right choice."

Christchurch tourism information manager Sarah Stewart-Haddow said yesterday: "We have been really busy. The weather makes such a difference.

"Normally bank holidays are quite quiet but there are a lot of people around today. It is the first break since Christmas and I should imagine everyone has had a good weekend."

New Forest visitor information officer Wendy Bedggood said the Easter weekend had brought visitors flocking to the forest with most accommodation, including campsites, fully booked.

And Becky Knight, tourist assistant at Poole Tourism, said the Quay had been "busy".

"We have been really busy. There were a lot of people on the Quay. I think as the weather was nice it was a mix of tourists and locals on the Quay and it was also really busy on Friday. "There were lots of people in shorts. And we have had lots of people asking for accommodation and about what's going on."

The early tourist boost coincided with news that the right to roam has been extended to the whole of England's coastline.

Under the £50 million scheme, the public will be granted access to thousands of beaches and cliff-top paths currently in private ownership.

Public access could begin as early as summer 2008 but it will take ten years to open up the entire coast.