BUSINESSES are preparing for a bumper weekend as temperatures are set to be unseasonably high.
The forecast for Mother's Day on Sunday is for a top temperature of 18C, triple the average for the time of year.
The Crewe and Harpur pub at Swarkestone said it is fully booked for Sunday lunch and expects its garden to be full.
Assistant manager Steph O'Neill said: "I'm sure there will be plenty of people through the doors and wanting to eat outside as Mother's Day is very popular.
"We have our normal menu on Sunday but, for those booking a table after 6pm, then they get a free glass of sparkling wine."
Rosemary Brown, owner of Bluebells Dairy in Spondon, said she was confident it would be the busiest Mother's Day the business has seen.
She said: "We have a special strawberry, meringue and vanilla sundae especially for the day, when the weather looks great.
"We also have cream teas and we expect it to be a nice day for mums to relax and chill out."
It is set to be 16C on Saturday and 15C on Monday.
Mark Smith, the manager at Swarkestone Nursery, has said previously that he has never been so excited about an approaching summer in 15 years.
He made that prediction on March 3 – at the same time last year, the business was coping with 9ft-high snowdrifts.
He said: "It's a really exciting time with the weather at the minute and I'm sure the restaurant will be packed."
Spondon weather forecaster Martin Harris said there would be highs of 18C on Sunday.
He said: "This weekend looks to be one of the warmest so far this year, with warm air coming up from the continent.
"The weekend looks like a weekend of sunny spells between the breaks in the cloud, with plenty of sunshine.
"Mothering Sunday looks to be the best of the weekend, with temperatures as high as 18C."
