The Bank Holiday was a washout for many parts of the UK this weekend, but just as everyone returns to work temperatures are set to steadily improve, with sunny and dry spells forecast.

Rain is expected to hit north and west parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland on Tuesday but the rest of the week looks like it will remain dry for most.

The Met Office predicts temperatures will dip mid-week, with the mercury soaring to 25C in the south of the country by the weekend.

Meteorologist Rachael West said: “The general trend over the next few days will see a fair amount of dry weather.”

She added that this week will see “fairly subtle changes but certainly feeling a little bit warmer by the weekend”.

The Met Office’s forecast for this week predicts there will be patchy rain on Wednesday, followed by fresher and sunnier weather, with some windy showers in the northwest.

Thursday and Friday are expected to be sunny, with chilly nights.

A soggy Sunday with torrential downpours saw revellers soaked at Notting Hill carnival, while heavy rain forced the cancellation of the Silverstone GoPro British Grand Prix MotoGP.

But just a day later festival-goers in west London enjoyed a balmy 19C.

Temperatures reached 20C in Suffolk on bank holiday Monday, according to the Met Office, which is around average for this time of year.

Elsewhere holidaymakers flocked to beaches across the country including Brighton and Bournemouth.

Despite rain expected in Scotland and Ireland during the week, the predicted rainfall of around 15mm is far short of the 40.2 mm which fell in Mumbles Head, near Swansea on Sunday.

Next week could see a late return of summery conditions, forecasters said, with high pressure weather fronts bringing in warmer temperatures across the south and west of the country.