The first of an estimated two million Britons going abroad over Easter have set off wondering whether the foreign weather will match that of the UK.

Those staying at home are having to contend with congested roads and some disrupted rail services but are being promised warm sunshine over the holiday period.

Temperatures in London and south east England are likely to reach as high as 24C on Good Friday, with the weather nationwide due to stay warm and sunny over the Easter weekend.

But Britons travelling to European hotspots are likely to see comparatively low temperatures, with Malaga in southern Spain and the Greek Island of Corfu only likely to reach around 17C and Barcelona only getting up to 16C.

Roads are expected to be busy over the weekend, although there is better news for drivers as the Highways Agency announced that the fire-hit section of the M1 between junctions one and four just north of London is now fully open again. The agency has suspended roadworks at a number of sites on England's motorways and major roads, but restrictions are still in place at some sites, including some on the M1 and M25.

Network Rail said there will be some engineering work on the railways over Easter but that 18% more trains are running this holiday compared with last Easter. Disrupted services due to engineering include those using the West Coast line in north west England, services in and out of London's Liverpool Street station and trains on the Great Western line.

The late Easter and the royal wedding have resulted in employees having to take only three days off next week to get an 11-day break, starting on Friday returning to work on Tuesday May 3.

Travel organisation Abta said the most popular destination for those travelling abroad this Easter is Spain, with the top city destinations being Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam, Rome and New York.

VisitEngland said that 26% of UK adults are planning to take a trip involving at least one overnight stay in the UK over the double bank holiday period. It added that those likely to make the most overnight-stay trips are from Greater London and north west England.

Travel company Tui, the parent of holiday firms Thomson and First Choice, said its Easter sales are 22% up on last year, while budget airline Ryanair reported its Easter bookings are 10% up on last year. Its top destinations are the Canary Islands, Greece, France, Portugal and Spain.