The great escape

More than a million people are heading abroad for the sun this weekend as forecasters warn of heavy rain for much of Britain.

Holiday companies said there had been a huge surge in demand for destinations with near-certain sunshine, including Cyprus, Turkey and Egypt.

Spanish resorts Malaga and Palma, together with Faro in Portugal, are also proving popular with the 330,000 passengers due to pass though Gatwick over the next two days. Monarch Airlines said all their flights from Gatwick to Malaga this weekend were fully booked, as were flights from Luton to Cyprus.

Stansted said it was braced for one of its busiest spells ever, with Rome and Alicante among the most popular destinations for the expected 75,000 passengers. A spokesman for airports operator BAA said: "Everyone is remembering the sunshine and going out to find it."

For those left behind, the miserable weather is likely to be compounded by travel delays on the roads, rail and Underground. Traffic experts say journeys will take up to four times longer during the May Day break as people take to the roads and head for coastal areas and beauty spots.

Roads

The M25, yesterday declared Britain's most congested motorway, is likely to be one of the worst roads for hold-ups.

Roadworks on the 18-mile western section - between Junction 10 near Wisley in Surrey and Junction 16 at Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire - will add to the nightmare for drivers used to queueing for up to an hour at peak times.

"The majority of motorists will probably get caught in some kind of traffic jam this coming weekend,"
said RAC Auto Windscreen's managing director Bill Duffy. " Unfortunately, traffic jams are par for the course on a bank holiday."

Tube

Thousands face disruption because of major closures affecting the District and Circle lines over the three-day holiday period.

The District line will be closed between Earl ' s Court and Whitechapel and all Circle line services will be withdrawn. On Monday there will be no Waterloo & City line service. The shutdown of
the District and Circle lines is to enable major engineering works replacing tracks, ballast and sleepers to take place.

Buses

It is the first of 17 weekend closures - 12 this summer and the remainder next year. Howard Collins, London Underground service director, said: "We have a planned programme that will cause the minimum disruption possible."

Extra buses will not be laid on because LU says the stations affected are already well-served either by bus or alternative Tube lines. There will, however, be extra services on the Hammersmith & City line.

Rail

Mainline rail services operated by South Eastern trains will be disrupted on routes between Charing Cross and the Kent coast.

Further large-scale work is being carried out between Woking and Winchester on Sunday, which will affect South West Trains' longerdistance services. There will be changes to the mainline timetable for First Great Western passengers using Paddington. On Saturday, trains will leave earlier than usual.

Weather

Forecasters say there is unlikely to be any let-up in the patchy wet weather until Tuesday - although temperatures are predicted to be at least above average for the time of year, rising to 17C (63F) by Saturday.

Tony Conlan, forecaster at the PA WeatherCentre said: "It's not a weekend to head for the beach."