SCORCHIO! Easter weekend is odds-on to be HOTTER than Spain with record highs of 82F as Brits this week bask in springtime sun and 60F temperatures

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Britain heralded the start of summertime with glorious sunshine over the weekend - and sunseekers can look forward to more balmy weather this week.

Met Office forecasters say parts of the UK will continue to enjoy a fine spell of weather thanks to high pressure this week - with temperatures set to soar as high as 20C in the south on Wednesday and Thursday. 

According to the Met Office, this Easter could be warmer than average, with fine and settled conditions expected from mid April. 

This comes as bookmakers are giving odds of 8-1 that April's Easter weekend will beat 2011's record of 27.8C. 

Sunseekers took advantage of the sunshine and warm weather to spend time on the beach in Brighton over lunchtime today

There were blue skies and sunshine in London today, as temperatures rise to 16 degrees on what was predicted to be the warmest day of the year so far

The clocks went forward yesterday to mark the beginning of British summertime - and conditions have been appropriately warm and sunny already 

This interactive module, which is continuously updated, represents the picture across the UK. It shows high pressure sweeping across the country creating the warm and pleasant conditions seen over the weekend and into this week.

The clocks went forward yesterday to mark the beginning of British summertime – and Scotland enjoyed temperatures of 20C (68F), the highest in the UK.

The warm weather sparked a stampede to beauty spots, and in Glasgow, crowds flocked to the city's parks. 

Aviemore registered the UK's top temperature of 20C (68F) – the hottest spot England and Wales could muster was 14C (57F) at Builth Wells, Powys.

Stuart Brooks, of the Met office in Aberdeen, said: 'Clear blue skies have extended across almost all of the country. The exceptions were Shetland, which was under cloud, and parts of South-East Scotland.'

Similar conditions were seen across the UK today, with highs of 16C in London, 14C in Manchester and 13C in Cardiff. 

However the Met Office says rain is expected tomorrow and Wednesday before fine conditions return on Thursday. Temperatures will be around 13C (55F) to 15C (59F) in most places.

A Met Office forecaster said: 'It's looking like a fine weekend ahead of us with plenty of dry and sunny weather.

'It could be wall-to-wall sunshine for much of the country but with some cloudier weather in the North.

People enjoyed a sunny afternoon strolling through the grounds of Greys Court in Oxfordshire this afternoon

Cherry Blossom in the sunshine at Oxfordshire: The warm weather sparked a stampede to beauty spots across the UK

Greenwich, London: Met Office forecasters say parts of the UK will continue to enjoy a fine spell of weather thanks to high pressure this week - with temperatures set to soar as high as 20C in the south on Wednesday and Thursday

This graphic shows the temperature across the country as well as the wind speed, precipitation and air pressure. It also shows how the UK compares to other countries on the continent.

After a warm and settled weekend dominated by high pressure, the week will start dry with heavy showers pushing up from the south during Tuesday, according to the Met Office. 

This will be followed by wind and rain towards the end of the week, although temperatures will remain in the mid to high teens, say forecasters. 

By the weekend, high pressure will return with sunny conditions likely on Sunday. 

William Hill is offering odds of 6/1 (from 8/1 on Sunday) for a record heatwave for Easter, beating the 27.8C recorded in 2011. 

It is offering odds of 3/1 that April 2017 will be the hottest April on record. 

'The odds of the record Easter weekend temperature being recorded have tumbled from 8/1 to 6/1 over the course of Monday after another glorious day and there are many people backing this current heatwave to continue,' said William Hill spokesman Joe Crilly. 

Mothers and their children out for a walk in the sun in Oxfordshire: After a warm and settled weekend dominated by high pressure, the week will start dry and warm again

A magnificent Snakes Head Fritillary at Greys Court in Oxfordshire - and there are similarly lovely pictures across the UK, as daffodils emerge across beauty spots 

Oxfordshire: Temperatures will remain warmer than average this week, with a few spots across eastern England reaching the high teens

Oxfordshire: The sunny weather comes as bookmakers are giving odds of 8-1 that April's Easter weekend will beat 2011's record of 27.8C

Families out enjoying the sun in Oxfordshire: The Met Office says rain is expected tomorrow and Wednesday before fine conditions return on Thursday. Temperatures will be around 13C (55F) to 15C (59F) in most places

Cherry blossom is out in bloom in Oxfordshire, where there were highs of around 14C throughout the afternoon 

Pictured, (left to right) the predicted weather for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday - fine weather is expected for most of the country

And the mercury is odds-on to soar at the end of March, according to Ladbrokes.

The bookies have slashed the odds of temperatures surging higher than 20'C this week to just 4/6 (from 3/1), while it's now 10/1 (from 50/1) that a new record for March is set in 2017, breaking the long-standing 25.6C set in Cambridgeshire in 1968.

It also looks like Britain's peak temperatures will compare favourably to other usually sunnier locations this week, with 5/6 offered the UK will register a higher peak than Athens, while it's evens we beat Barcelona and 6/4 it will outstrip Algiers.

Tuesday March 28 is also now long odds-on at 1/2 to be the balmiest day of the year to date.

Alex Donohue of Ladbrokes said: 'Our weather watchers have slashed the odds of this March coming to an end with soaring temperatures. While a new record peak may just be out of reach, it looks highly likely the mercury will surge past an unseasonably-warm 20'C at the very least this week.'