The AA issued the warning, which is only the second such warning issued by the motoring association, because it expects 45% of UK drivers to embark on at least one journey without commuting between Friday and Monday. Families returning from summer holidays before the start of the new school year will fight for street space alongside festival-goers and day-trippers. Events taking place this weekend include the Reading and Leeds festivals, CarFest South in Hampshire, the closing weekend of the Edinburgh festival, a full schedule of football matches and an England v South Africa cricket match in Manchester. The AA expects recreational traffic to peak on Saturday between 10am. and 4 p.m. Predicted traffic points include the M4/M5 junction near Bristol. the M1 between the M25 and Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire. the M6/M42 junction at Birmingham; and the M62 between Liverpool and Manchester. Monday is a bank holiday throughout the UK, except Scotland, and is the last bank holiday of the summer. Sean Sidley, who was named AA Patrolman of the Year, said: “This year we predict up to 15 million trips will be made over the August bank holiday as families make the most of the warm weather and have a last hurray before the new school year. “With events and festivals fully back to normal, local congestion will peak at closing time around the main venues, but the rest of the UK could see peak travel throughout Saturday. “Traffic is likely to pick up again from Monday afternoon into Tuesday, so allow plenty of time if you’re traveling then. “Routes to and from coastal resorts and beauty spots will be among the busiest, so drivers should plan ahead and check their car before setting off.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Train services on some routes will be disrupted this weekend due to engineering work. Network Rail said £90m worth of upgrades would be carried out but stressed 95% of lines would remain open. A reduced timetable will apply between Northampton/Milton Keynes and London Euston due to HS2 works between Saturday and Monday. Junction rebuilding works mean there will be no trains to London Charing Cross or Cannon Street stations on Saturday or Sunday, with a limited service from Hastings/Tonbridge to London Bridge on both days. London Bridge and Cannon Street will be fully reopened on Monday, while Charing Cross will remain closed until the following day. Services between London Waterloo and Reading will be altered and diverted over the three-day weekend due to the layoff. No Great Northern or Thameslink trains will run between Finsbury Park and Stevenage via Welwyn Garden City on Sunday and Grand Central trains will be diverted with extended journey times. The disruption will be a further blow to commuters who have been hit repeatedly by rail strikes in recent weeks. Andrew Haines, chief executive of Network Rail, said: “I am pleased to say that the vast majority of railways will be open for business as usual this bank holiday so passengers can rely on us to get where they want. as they make the most of their summers. “Our teams will be delivering some upgrade work to improve future journeys for passengers, so we’re asking people to check before they travel to make sure their journey isn’t affected.”
