Tourist attractions throughout the county were hoping to cash in on the soaring temperatures as summer finally arrived in Oxfordshire.

Many businesses have been hard-hit as a result of the wintry conditions of recent weeks. But yesterday, there were signs that things were improving.

Paul Duffie, chief administrator of Blenheim Palace, in Woodstock, said that business had "not been brilliant" over recent weeks.

He added: "It does not take much to work out that if you're planning a day out and it's absolutely emptying down, you're going to think twice. The World Cup didn't help, either.

"I sincerely hope for everybody's sake that there's some nice weather so that people can visits all the beautiful attractions that Oxfordshire has to offer."

Despite yesterday's fine weather the Howard and Son Punting Company, on Magdalen Bridge in Oxford City Centre, did not experience a massive upsurge in business.

Proprietor Andrew Howard said this might be due to visitors planning their programmes in advance. He said: "Would you go out on the river if it's pouring with rain? You wait until it's a sunny day. It has been a mediocre year."

Cotswold Wildlife Park is hoping the arrival of summer will herald a boost in visitor numbers. Park secretary Maureen Clifford said: "We got off to a good start because February was lovely. The numbers did drop at Easter and we haven't quite made that up yet."

But she added July had seen an upturn in the park's fortunes and it was hoped the warm spell would bring even more visitors.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.