Published: 11:19, 19 July 2021 | Updated: 17:12, 19 July 2021
People queued to get into nightclubs as the remaining coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England at midnight.
Excited revellers eager for a dance described the midnight reopening as “like New Year”.
A DJ playing music at Bar Fibre in Leeds (Ioannis Alexopoulos/PA)The lifting of restrictions allows venues such as nightclubs to finally welcome back patrons (Ioannis Alexopoulos/PA)People were ready to enjoy a night out again (Ioannis Alexopoulos/PA)
The lifting of restrictions allows venues such as nightclubs to finally welcome back patrons, but Boris Johnson has urged people to exercise their new freedoms with caution.
Face masks are no longer mandatory in shops and on most public transport, while limits on gathering have gone and the work from home guidance has ended.
Commuters, some not wearing face masks, on a train (Victoria Jones/PA)The Government’s decision to ease restrictions on mask wearing was replaced with guidance (Victoria Jones/PA)Mayor of London Sadiq Khan at Bond Street Underground station (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Nightclubs, theatres and restaurants can fully reopen, while pubs are no longer restricted to table service only.
Birmingham street trader Leigh Paton said she could not wait for business to return to normal as the city marked so-called freedom day in England (Phil Barnett/PA)Some people were still wearing face masks in central London (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
In the capital, the Tower of London reopened after its longest closure since the Second World War.
Yeoman Warder Darren Hardy and Yeoman Serjeant Clive Towell open the West Door at the Tower of London (Jonathan Brady/PA)Yeoman Warder Barney Chandler leads a tour of the tower (Victoria Jones/PA)A march towards the West Door at the Tower of London (Jonathan Brady/PA)
In Scotland, the easing of travel restrictions meant those who have had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine no longer have to self-isolate on return from an amber list country.
Friends Poppy and Shannon, both aged 20, head towards the departure gate at Glasgow Airport after checking in for their flight to Ibiza (Jane Barlow/PA)Two women head to a check-in desk at Glasgow Airport (Jane Barlow/PA)
Social-distancing rules have governed people’s lives for more than a year in one form or another.
However, the lifting of the rules in England meant plenty of people could gather to greet the Prince of Wales on a visit to Exeter Cathedral.
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall met wellwishers during a visit to Exeter Cathedral in Devon (Chris Jackson/PA)Charles looked cool in his shades during the visit (Chris Jackson/PA)
In Blackpool, it was time to dig out the dancing shoes again.
People dancing in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, after the final legal restrictions were lifted in England (Peter Byrne/PA)A couple dancing in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom (Peter Byrne/PA)
