Who cares about a little gloom? Britons race to pack out beaches despite overcast weather – ahead of showers set to blight the country until August

• Images show beachgoers enjoying a dip in the sea despite cloudy skies above 
• Elsewhere in the country, downpours put dampener on start of summer holidays 
• It comes as Met Office predict that rain is set to blight the UK until August  

Beaches have been packed with families enjoying the start of the summer holidays amid cloudy skies, while downpours are seen across the country ahead of further showers set to blight the UK until next month.

Images show busy beaches up and down the British coast, including sandy spots in Lyme Regis, Dorset, where hundreds gathered armed with pop up tents and deck chairs in spite of the overcast weather. 

Temperatures remained in the high teens, and the clouds didn’t deter beachgoers from having a paddle in the sea before the weather becomes wet again. 

Elsewhere, storm clouds were spotted gathering in Whitley Bay, on the north east coast of England, while showers were seen in other parts of the country. 

According to the Met Office, most places will remain dry with some sunny spells breaking through for the rest of today, but the UK will soon face another bought of wet weather. 

While it will remain warm tomorrow, with temperatures set to hit the low 20s in some parts of the country, clouds are expected to take over in the west, causing rainfall in some areas.

Images show busy beaches up and down the British coast, including sandy spots in Lyme Regis, Dorset, where hundreds gathered armed with pop up tents and deck chairs in spite of the overcast weather

People are seen taking a dip and paddling in the sea in spite of the gloomy weather above 

Elsewhere, storm clouds were spotted gathering in Whitley Bay, on the north east coast of England, while showers were seen in other parts of the country

The best of the sunny weather will remain in the east. 

The weather will remain a mixture of sunshine and showers on Thursday, before briefly brightening up for a drier day on Friday. 

But heavy showers are expected to kick in over the weekend, ending the month wet weather and with spells of thunder predicted in the north. 

‘The end of July is likely to remain unsettled with showers, perhaps heavy and thundery, especially in the north, giving way to longer spells of rain’. the Met Office said. 

‘Often quite windy as well, especially for the time of year, with southern areas probably seeing the strongest winds. 

‘Temperatures are expected to remain below normal, and it is likely to feel especially cool in areas of more persistent rain or stronger winds.’ 

Headed into August, the weather is expected to remain unsettled, with spells of sunshine and longer periods of rain, mostly in western areas. It’s also likely that there will be strong winds, and temperatures will feel unseasonably cool. 

Met Office meterologist Stephen Dixon told the Evening Standard the wet weather will remain in the beginning of next month, but by the second week of August, ‘we start to see something in some of the long range forecasts which show some warmer weather on the way’. 

The overcast weather didn’t deter beachgoers from hitting their favourite sandy spots 

The beach at Lyme Regis was packed with families as the summer holidays kick off 

‘But at this range it’s too early to say where exactly, although there’s a slightly greater chance of more settled weather in the south-east’, he added. 

The latest predictions come after a washout weekend across most of the country, including Manchester where heavy rain postponed the start of Day Four action of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford. 

Around 13 flood alerts were in place across parts of the country yesterday amid fears that rivers in Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tarleton, West Yorkshire, Leicester, East Anglia, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, the Black Country, South Staffordshire, and Cumbria would break their banks. 

It appears that Britain will continue largely to dodge the extreme heat seen in other parts of Europe. 

As temperatures remain in the 20s this week, much of Europe will continue to see temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s. The highest temperatures will be seen in southern Europe before shifting further east.