The roads and ports were packed yesterday as millions began the bank holiday weekend early.

It was thought to be the busiest day on the roads this year, with ten million heading away for the weekend, a 13 per cent rise on last year, according to the AA. The RAC is predicting a third more short trips than this time last year, while British resorts are ready for a bumper Easter as families opt for value breaks in this country over expensive foreign trips.

Accidents soon brought congestion, with the M25 around Heathrow and the M6 Toll in Birmingham the early blackspots, according to the AA. By mid-afternoon, traffic was heavy on the A303 in Wiltshire, the M1 in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, the A66 in Cumbria and M40 in Northamptonshire.

Roadworks will affect 32 major roads over the weekend, although a further 51 works have been suspended until the end of Monday, according to the Highways Agency.

CCTV cameras were showing heavy caravan traffic, particularly in Somerset and Wales, the AA said. Jon Dale, of the Camping and Caravanning Club, said that there had been a resurgence in interest. Site bookings were showing a rise of 30 per cent and it was expected to be a boom year.

“With the credit crunch and the strong euro, we’ve been getting a lot of interest,” he said. “People do have the perception that if money is tight, why not go on holiday in this country and help the local economy.”

Traditional British holiday camps have had a surge in bookings, with Pontin’s up 22 per cent on last year. Butlin’s has been fully booked for weeks, and summer bookings are already up 15 per cent.

Popular destinations were expected to have heavy traffic throughout the weekend, particularly Brighton, Bournemouth, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Nottingham, the AA said.

Three and a half million passengers are expected to travel by rail over the weekend, but they will have to contend with disruption on some main routes. The West Coast Main Line between Milton Keynes and Rugby is closed from tomorrow until noon on Monday. Services in and out of Waterloo and Liverpool Street stations in London will also be affected by engineering work.

Rail and ferry links to France are expected to be crowded, with P&O ferries due to carry 132,000 passengers between Dover and Calais this weekend, a third more than this time last year. The airports will also be busy, with two million people expected to fly out over the weekend.

City breaks outside the eurozone, such as in Budapest, Prague and Belgrade, are popular, according to the Association of British Travel Agents.

Those who are on their way to resorts in the Mediterranean are likely to be greeted by rain and low temperatures.

Source: The Times