SCOTLAND recorded Britain’s highest temperature yesterday and the country is expected set a record heading into the Bank Holiday weekend.

The village of Aboyne, in Aberdeenshire, saw the Mercury rise to 81.5°F, while cities such as Glasgow, where people took to sunbathing in George Square and parks, reached 77°F. Others headed to the beach.

But the effect of continued hot air rising up from the continent could spark even higher temperatures today with the Met Office predicting 86°F possible in the north-east.

Forecaster Grahame Madge, of the Met Office, said: “Today’s temperature in Aboyne is not only the highest in Britain of the day, but the top UK temperature of 2017 so far.

“Something with a three in front of it is possible on Friday, with the best chance of 86°F or higher around the Inverness or Moray Firth area.

“If 86°F is recorded in the UK on Friday, it is almost certainly going to be in Scotland.”

The record for a May day in Scotland goes back to 2012, when 87.6°F was recorded at Inverailort, in Lochaber.

The sudden arrival of hot weather saw Scots head for the beaches and parks yesterday.

At Rouken Glen Park in Giffnock, East Renfrewshire, “Prosecco Picnics” were the order of the day.

Karla Roarty and Dorothy Sweeney raised a glass at the park’s famous pond.

Karla, 35, from Knightswood in Glasgow, joked: “We wanted to go out for the day and asked if we could borrow a friend’s dog as an excuse for a walk. The dog didn’t want to come, so we decided to go to the park anyway.”

Dorothy Sweeney, 57, from Shawlands, in the city, said: “This is just fabulous weather. Why would go abroad if you got a couple of weeks of this each year?”

Shops say people will be stocking up for Barbecue Friday, the first weekend of the year when they can comfortably eat outdoors.

Glasgow Airport expect 40,000 people to fly out for supposedly better weather, while the RAC estimates that 16.5 journeys are to be taken for leisure over between Friday and Bank Holiday Monday, a rise of 2.5 on last year.