Gloomy outlook for bank holiday weekend in South West Wales

ENJOY it while it lasts. If you are lucky enough to have some time off this week then get out in what little sun there is, because this bank holiday weekend — like so many others this year — is threatening to be a washout.

Thousands of people are expected to visit Swansea over the holiday, with the first Tawe Fest music festival featuring the likes of rockers Status Quo, '90s pop heroes Steps and X Factor winner Alexandra Burke taking place at Singleton Park.

And those with a cultured palate will be enjoying the delights of the Welsh Menu Live event which is taking place in the city centre over the weekend.

But according to Wales's most popular weatherman, the BBC's Derek Brockway, revellers best take a brolly as the typical British summer is set to strike again.

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"It is not great weather for the bank holiday weekend," Derek said.

"It will be more wet than dry with showers and longer spells of rain. It will also be breezy, windy and cooler at times.

"Make the most of the drier and brighter spells between showers."

The UK has had to endure some of its worst weather since records began this year.

Seventeen inches of rain fell in Wales between April and June, making it the wettest three month period since 1910.

The last bank holiday weekend, the four-day break to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in June, was also a washout with many street parties thrown indoors to avoid the rain.

And with businesses in Gower relying on the sun to attract day-trippers and tourists, owners are concerned about the impact the weather is having on their trade.

Owner of the famous Big Apple at Bracelet Bay, Victor Frunza, said: "The weather is bad for us, it has not been as good as we expected it to be," he said.

"I started the business in April and it has been mixed weather all the way through, hopefully next year it will be better.

"I would like to keep open on the weekends throughout the winter.

"If the weather is just dry then we can open, it is the rain which is the problem."

David Beynon, owner of the Three Cliffs Holiday Park, said they were well used to dealing with sunshine and showers.

"It is the same old story, we say the summers are not like they used to be, but we only remember the nice times," Mr Beynon said.

"This summer has not been the best at all, but we have managed and coped.

"We started the summer holidays well, in the last week of July, but then it was back to the low pressure again.

"We are fully booked at the moment for this weekend, but it is a question of watching this space with cancellations."

Wind and rain is expected to lash large swathes of the country this weekend with temperatures struggling to reach 20C/58F.

robert.goodman@swwmedia.co.uk

01792 514 665.

Click here for the weather forecast for South West Wales..