Roads and tourist venues expected to be busy as Province gets out and about over Easter weekend

Roads are expected to be busy as people flock to the coast in the hope of some sunshine, and the good news is today’s outlook from the Met Office is for an increasingly bright day with some hazy sunshine and temperature reaching a max of 16 degrees.

Sadly, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday will see the occasional shower, while Easter Tuesday is forecast to be dry and bright.

One of the Northern Ireland’s big tourist hot spots – Portrush – has been boosted with the return of Barry’s Amusements, under the new guise of Curry’s Fun Park.

It has proven to be a popular destination since reopening last weekend, though some visitors have complained of extremely long queues to get tokens for the rides.

One venue that will not be experiencing queues is Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, which will not open for Easter due to staffing issues.

The National Trust advertised job listings last month for people to work at the dramatic cliff-top tourist attraction.

The world-famous rope bridge closed during the coronavirus pandemic and has yet to reopen.

The trust’s operations manager Alastair Walker, speaking to the BBC about the staffing issues, said: “The whole tourism and hospitality industry has been hit.

“I believe people have found other opportunities during lockdowns and it’s up to us to attract them back.”

For those jetting further afield, the good news is that NI’s airports are not experiencing the same delays as Dublin Airport, where large queues have made the news.

A passenger flying out of Belfast International this morning reported that it took less 10 minutews to get through security.

Meanwhile the PSNI has issued a stay safe warning for those visiting the Province’s north coast.

District Commander Superintendent Jeremy Lindsay explains: “The north coast continues to be a popular destination at this time of the year so our priority is making sure that everyone stays safe.

“Bear in mind that parking spaces around the Ports are in high demand at this time of year and traffic in and out of the town can be busy so we highly recommend that visitors make use of the public transport links available in and out of the towns.

Translink’s head of rail customer services Hilton Parr said: “We will be working closely with the PSNI to ensure everyone has a safe and comfortable journey with us this Easter.

“We would also remind passengers alcohol should not be brought into our stations or consumed on our trains.”