Britons sweltered in soaring temperatures as much of England and Wales enjoyed the hottest day of the year so far.
The mercury across some parts of the country outstripped recorded highs in well known Mediterranean hotspots.
Sun seekers flocked to city parks to soak up the rays, while beaches at popular seaside resorts were packed with people building sand castles and paddling in the sea.
Temperatures in several major British cities climbed into the late-20s, beating notoriously sunny European cities.
According to data gathered by MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, London's Olympic Park hit a high of 28.8C, well ahead of Rome on 26.5C and Cannes on 23.8C, but behind Madrid on 29.7C
Santon Downham, Norfolk, reached 28.4C, Sheffield reached 28.2C, Heathrow 28.1C and Birmingham 27.2C, while Durham notched up 27.2C and Cardiff 24.9C, ahead of Athens on 24.2C and Rhodes on 22.6C. An afternoon reading in Norwich of 29C was later discounted by forecasters as unverified.
At zoos, keepers cooled down their animals using hoses, while the heatwave led to a surge in sales of ice cream and BBQ food as shoppers dusted off the BBQs to enjoy the sunny weekend weather.
Tesco said it sold more than one million litres of ice cream on Saturday and was expecting to sell approximately 13 million sausages over the two days.
Gareth Harvey, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, said: "England and Wales in general have seen wall to wall sunshine again with hardly any cloud. There has been a fly in the ointment locally across parts of north east England with one or two thunder storms breaking out.
"Scotland has had a bit more cloud, with showery rain and isolated showers, especially in the north. Northern Ireland has also had a pretty good day with hardly any cloud."
