Spring sunshine encourages visitors to the coast

Visitors enjoying a paddle at Broadstairs, Kent, yesterday as an early dose of spring sunshine gave Britain's coastal resorts a pre-season boost. The dry, bright weather outstripped conditions in many Mediterranean holiday spots and is expected to continue over much of England and Wales today, though tomorrow may be cooler. While Athens was 14C and Cyprus was 12C, two British resorts - Colwyn Bay in North Wales and Skegness in Lincolnshire - recorded temperatures of 18C, the warmest in the country and the highest so far this year. The Welsh Mountain Zoo near Colwyn Bay reported twice the usual number of visitors for early March.

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