Canadian travellers planning their own long‑weekend get a reminder that the United Kingdom is bracing for 20 million car journeys over the August 31 bank holiday. RAC has estimated that 20 million leisure trips will be made by car between Friday and Monday August 31, the highest figure since the motoring services company began analysing drivers' summer bank holiday travel plans in 2015.
Travel demand and weather
Monday August 31 is a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with some 10.6 million Britons planning an overnight trip in the UK during the long weekend, according to VisitEngland data. In Canada, similar long‑weekend travel spikes are common, especially when the July Civic Holiday or Labour Day coincide with favourable weather, prompting authorities to issue comparable safety reminders.
The three‑day weekend comes after heavy rain hit parts of the UK after a hot dry summer during which most of England and the whole of Wales was declared in drought.
On Thursday, a yellow thunderstorm warning is in place in parts of the Midlands, eastern and southern England, the North West, Yorkshire and Humber and Wales until 10 pm as forecasters warned spray and sudden flooding could cause difficult driving conditions and some road closures. A separate yellow thunderstorm alert is in place in parts of London, Essex, Kent and the East Midlands from 5 pm on Thursday until 7 am on Friday.
Safety advice
Harriet Hernando, RAC breakdown spokeswoman, said: "The hot spell has given way to thunderstorms in many parts of the country, and that combined with the bank holiday getaway traffic could make for challenging conditions on the roads."
She added that flash‑flooding could be an issue, so drivers should slow down because there is a real risk of aquaplaning and losing control, especially with tyres that have little tread or vehicles travelling too fast for the conditions.
The RAC urged drivers to ensure tyres do not fall between the 1.6 mm legal tread limit and are inflated to the correct pressure before setting out. Canadian drivers heading to the U.S. border are advised to allow extra time, as cross‑border traffic often mirrors the surge seen in the UK.
Friday is "likely to be mired in traffic", the company said, with 4.1 million getaway journeys predicted. On Saturday, some 3.8 million leisure trips are estimated, followed by 3.1 million on Sunday and 3.4 million the following day, when day‑trippers will compete for space on the roads with people returning from short breaks.
Transport analytics company Inrix identified likely congestion hotspots, including the M25 anticlockwise from Junction 17 in Hertfordshire to Junction 12 in Surrey, the M5 south from Junction 15 near Bristol to Junction 23 in Somerset, the M1 south from Junction 16 in Northamptonshire to Junction 6 in Hertfordshire, and the M5 north from Junction 11 in Gloucestershire to Junction 1 in the West Midlands.
For those travelling by air, budget airline Ryan Air said it was expecting to carry 860 000 passengers through 22 UK airports over its "busiest bank holiday weekend of the year".
Network rail is carrying out less engineering work than usual for the bank holiday weekend, but thousands of passengers face disruption when the East Coast Main Line is closed between London King's Cross and Peterborough on Sunday for digital signalling work. Network Rail also reports no trains between Stafford and Wolverhampton on Sunday and disruption in the Leeds area between Saturday and Monday August 31.
East Midlands Railway has warned of disruption to its services over the long weekend because of a strike by workers in a dispute over safety. A walkout by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at the train operator will hit services on Sunday and bank holiday Monday. The company said it will run a "significantly reduced" timetable to and from London on both days, advising passengers to travel only if essential and to check before setting out.