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It's been a miserable August so far with parts of Britain battered by a month of rainfall in just the first ten days.

But sunseekers returned to parks and beaches today as the country enjoyed highs of up to 77F (25C) amid the promise of a good spell of summery weather lasting for at least the next week with dry and sunny conditions.

The best of the conditions this afternoon will be in South East England, which has borne the brunt of the washout August, and the Met Office expects the next few days to be 'more settled' compared to last week.

Among those enjoying the conditions today were spectators sitting along the River Thames watching the Henley Royal Regatta, while others headed to Bournemouth beach and parks in London to play in the water fountains. 

But other parts of Britain continued to suffer from rain today – including South West England, where windswept revellers arrived in damp conditions for Boardmasters Festival in Newquay, Cornwall, which runs until Sunday.  

Meanwhile, holidaymakers were left shocked after seeing sand dunes on fire in the Welsh seaside resort of Borth in Ceredigion, with firefighters racing to the blaze at a local golf course at around 3pm yesterday. 

People enjoy the hot weather on beach at Bournemouth in Dorset this afternoon with more summery conditions on the way

Sand dunes ablaze in the middle of Borth and Ynyslas Golf Course in Ceredigion, West Wales, yesterday afternoon

People enjoy the hot weather on the beach at Bournemouth in Dorset today as the summer holidays continue across the UK

Two women watch the action from the river bank on the opening day of the Henley Royal Regatta this afternoon

People enjoy the warm weather at Bournemouth today as sunseekers flock to the Dorset coast this afternoon

Members of the public enjoy a sunny day at Battersea Park in London today with more warm weather on the way this week

People enjoy the hot weather on the beach at Bournemouth in Dorset today as the summer holidays continue 

Rowing crews look on from the river bank as other crews compete on the opening day of the 2021 Henley Royal Regatta today

A sunny day in Ely, Cambridgeshire, today as people walk along the River Great Ouse in the warm weather

People make their way along the river bank on the opening day of the 2021 Henley Royal Regatta alongside the Thames today

It is unclear what caused the fire, which was spotted by John Wake, 30, who was on the second day of his holiday staying at his mother-in-law's caravan at the Searivers Caravan Park in Borth.

The primary school teacher, who lives in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, said: 'We were walking along the beach from the Victoria Pub in Borth and noticed a large amount of smoke rising in the distance.

'We thought the smoke was a bit more than your average beach fire or BBQ, and then a fire engine drove past us towards it and we thought something must be off.

'I sent my drone into the air ahead to see what was happening and couldn't believe it when I saw the sand dunes were on fire. It was quite surreal. Especially with all the wild fires that have been in the media recently. I

'It seemed very strange to be witnessing something like that. It was the grass in the sand dunes that set alight, it was very dry. I haven't any idea about what caused it - it was 19C (66F) today but it felt much hotter.' 

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service confirmed to MailOnline that crews attended after being called at 3.03pm. A spokesman said: 'Approximately one hectre of grass was alight. Crews used two hose reel jets and six beaters to distinguish fire. Natural Resources Wales were also in attendance. Crews left the scene at 4.18pm.'

Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin said there was an East/West split in the weather today, with Northern Ireland, North West England and Wales also affected by the downpours – but the East enjoying sunnier weather.

Holidaymakers were left shocked after seeing sand dunes on fire in the Welsh seaside resort of Borth yesterday

Firefighters raced to the blaze at a golf course in Borth, West Wales, at around 3pm yesterday next to the sand dunes

It is unclear what caused the blaze which saw the sand dunes on fire in the Welsh seaside resort of Borth yesterday

He said: 'It will turn damp over parts of North West England, West Wales and finally into parts of South West England too come the end of the afternoon. Northern Ireland actually brightens up through the afternoon.

'Western coast of Scotland also cheering up a little through the afternoon. And the rain in eastern Scotland will be fairly patchy. Further south though, and further east, it's staying largely dry. It will cloud over somewhat.

'But parts of East Anglia and the South East may well hang onto some good spells of sunshine, and in this zone that's where we'll see the top temperatures more widely into the mid-20s, perhaps 25C is possible. Obviously it's going to feel cooler where we've got the cloud and the rain and the increasing rain further west.'

He said there was 'some uncertainly' about how a weather front bringing rain will progress, but through the evening it will bring some patchy rain to the Midlands and possibly across to the east of the Pennines as well.

However it will be clearing all the while from parts of Scotland and Wales and then maybe lingering around the South West - before 'it should fizzle out as we go through Thursday, leaving many places with a largely dry day'.

Mr Deakin said the exception to the generally settled conditions tomorrow will be the North West where another area of low pressure comes in – further showers coming in here and a gusty wind as well.' 

Friday will bring a mixture of bright spells, variable amounts of cloud cover and a threat of showers which may be heavy across northern Scotland. 

Saturday will be dry for most with sunny spells but there will be areas of thick cloud cover and a continued threat of a few showers developing  

Arrivals at the Boardmasters Festival today which is taking place in the Cornish seaside resort of Newquay this weekend

Windswept revellers arrive in damp conditions for Boardmasters Festival in Newquay today, which runs until Sunday

Arrivals at the Boardmasters Festival in Newquay today which is taking place in the Cornish resort until Sunday

Revellers arrive for Boardmasters Festival where artists include Foals, Gorillaz, Jorja Smith, Sam Fender and Loyle Carner

Groups of revellers arrive for Boardmasters Festival 2021 in Newquay which got off to an overcast start today

Forecasters have also said parts of the UK have been battered by a month of rainfall in just the first ten days of August.

The Met Office has said that 46mm (1.8in) of rain has so far fallen in Greater London, which usually sees 53mm (2.1in) in the whole of August, while West Sussex has seen 98 per cent of its average rainfall for the month.

Parts of Surrey and areas in the South East have also had up to 85 per cent of their total rainfall for August in just over a week.

The average rainfall for the country in August is 89mm (3.5in), but so far almost 40 per cent of that total has fallen, 10 per cent more than expected, the Met Office said.

However, some areas have been drier than usual such as parts of west Scotland and eastern areas in England.

Grahame Madge, a Met Office spokesman, said: 'August has essentially been a case of mixed fortune with some areas seeing drier weather than usual, while others have virtually had a whole month of rainfall in just ten days.

'We're not expecting to see record-breaking weather, as there have certainly been wetter Augusts in the past but many areas have faced a very wet and intense period of rain.

'We are putting this down to an area of low pressure which is moving slowly across the country bringing the damp conditions many have seen.'