Thousands of travellers braved icy temperatures and fragmented rail services yesterday on the first day of the earliest - and coldest - Easter for decades.

Congestion on the roads did not live up to expectation, and Network Rail promised its weekend repair programme would not repeat the fiasco at New Year which cost it a £14m fine.

Although Scottish roads were largely clear, heavy snow and high winds were causing widespread disruption in the Grampian region last night, with the closure of a number of high roads, including the A93 Braemar to Blairgowrie Road, A939 Cockburn to Tomintoul, and A939 Ballater to Gairnshiel. There were also widespread reports of trees and cables down across the north-east making driving conditions treacherous.

On the ski slopes the weather was double-edged, with snow available but - frustratingly - high winds leading to the closure of many lifts and tow-bars.

The flash forecast from the Met Office - carrying 80% confidence - was for heavy snow overnight in the Highlands and Western Isles, Grampian, south-west Scotland, Lothian and Borders.

In the east and north-east of England this would be accompanied by severe gales, heavy snow and drifting, giving drivers heading south from Scotland cause to think again.

There was also the strong possibility - 60% confidence - of heavy snow in central Scotland, Tayside and Fife.

The outlook for today is cloud, rain, sleet and snow over north-east Scotland, central and eastern England, gradually easing. Plenty of dry, sunny spells is expected elsewhere, but also some wintry showers.

Heavy snow is also possible in most areas of Scotland tomorrow and on Monday, receding to higher ground in the north-east after that.

For those intent on leaving it all behind, Spain was a favourite destination for the 160,000-plus flying out from BAA's Scottish airports, with 60,000 leaving from Glasgow, 65,000 from Edinburgh and 22,000 from Aberdeen.

But some of Britain's busiest rail routes were reduced to weekend timetables amid a four-day £75m engineering programme.

With most travellers opting to join the getaway early to make the most of the four-day weekend, pressure on both roads and the railways was said to have peaked by mid-afternoon, dire warnings of nationwide gridlock appeared to have been overblown.

Motoring groups reported heavy delays on some major roads but said most routes were flowing freely, though busy.

Rail operators reported services running "smoothly" while conceding that forecasts of snow could yet have an effect.

The next major pressure point is expected to be Easter Monday, though rail operators hope the return home will be staggered, easing pressure to some extent.

Network Rail was hit with a record fine by the Office of Rail Regulation because of the disruption over the Christmas and New Year holiday.

But chief executive Iain Coucher insisted the group had "learnt our lesson" and would do "absolutely everything" to ensure there was no repeat of the January overruns.

Speaking at Rugby railway station in Warwickshire, where the New Year problems arose, he vowed to have train services back to normal on Tuesday.

"I can guarantee that we will do absolutely everything that we can to minimise the chance of any kind of overrun," he said.

Despite the Easter getaway, the number of journeys - usually around 3.5 million on a typical Friday - was expected to be down by more than 50% because of the absence of commuters. The AA said 6.5 million cars were expected on the roads over the weekend.

In Scotland, there were severe weather warnings to traffic on the Tay, Skye and Erskine bridges.

Meanwhile, on the Glencoe ski slopes all seven lifts were closed, but the forecast was looking better for today.

The Lecht was also closed, because the runs were only now starting to fill, but heavy snow showers were continuing.

In Glenshee only a few lifts were expected to open because of blizzard conditions.

The upper lifts on Nevis were also closed, although they were available on the lower slopes, and at Cairngorm the opening of lifts was also patchy, but with the ski area and Coire Cas offering "the best skiing for ages".

There were warnings of "considerable" (category 3) risks in the five areas monitored by the Avalanche Information Service - Creag Meagaidh, Glencoe, Lochaber, and Northern and Southern Cairngorms.