There were heavy downpours in the North West yesterday, with holidaymakers in the Lake District forced to dig out the raincoats to protect against the showers and cooler temperatures.

Children at the National Stone Skimming Championships in Windermere's Fell Foot Park refused to let a little rain dampen their spirits, donning their wellies to splash around in the puddles.

Wales, Yorkshire and Bristol also saw heavy rain today.

But Met Office forecaster Chris Bulmer said that, despite the 'foul' conditions across much of the country today, the outlook is set to improve across the board from tomorrow.

'We're going to see plenty of dry, bright sunshine,' he said.

Undeterred: After a hot and dry July, families have been forced to dig out their raincoats and umbrellas in recent days

Brighter days to come: Despite the soggy scene at Lake Windermere today, Britons can look forward to a sunny bank holiday

Looking up: After a bleak start to the weekend, temperatures will begin to rise again throughout the week

Grey start: The glorious heatwave has been followed by a spell of unsettled weather

Nice weather for ducks... and swans: Children wrapped up against the wind and rain to feed the ducks at Windermere today

Sunnier south: Things were brighter in Chelmsford, Essex, where thousands of music fans descended on Hylands Park for the opening of the V Festival

Summer fun: Festival-goers in Chelmsford had packed their sunglasses for the weekend

Avoiding the mud: The rain stayed away at the start of the festival in Hylands Park

Glum: It was a greyer day further north in Staffordshire where V kicked off at Weston Park today

The forecaster said temperatures could tip 25C in the South by Wednesday, before climbing as high as 30C or even further by the weekend.

While temperatures aren't expected to reach the dizzy heights seen during the July heatwave, forecasters say Britons can look forward to another prolonged spell of warm weather as we enter the final weeks of the summer.

'It's not going to be as hot as it was, but things are looking up on currently and there will be quite a change,' Mr Bulmer said.

Putting on a show: The Army's parachute display team the Red Devils opened the festival in Staffordshire

'It does look like there is going to be a good deal of fine and dry weather over the next couple of weeks - especially for the South,' he added.

The brighter weather on the way will be good news for the thousands of festival-goers who descended on Weston Park in Staffordshire and Hylands Park in Chelmsford today for the start of the V Festival.

The skies were grey over Weston Park today as the opening acts took to the stage, while revellers at the sister venue in the south enjoyed a brighter start.

'Foul': Flooding on the A592 in Cumbria today was far removed from the glorious sunshine that bathed the country just weeks ago

Damp days: An adjudicator takes shelter under an umbrella at the National Stone Skimming Championships in Cumbria's Fell Foot Park

Splashing fun: Children in wellies made the most of the puddles at Fell Foot Park in Windermere, Cumbria today at the National Stone Skimming Championships

Making the most: This boy wasn't about to let a little rain dampen his spirits at Windermere's Fell Foot Park

Better weather on the horizon: A lone canoeist makes his way across the misty lake in Fell Foot Park