It clouded over here around 4pm, we had no rain but the temp dropped a couple of degrees and then went back up again.  It’s still 32c, completely calm and very sticky!

No it is in Bushy Park here: 51°25'19.6"N 0°20'25.4"W

It is fairly new (Feb 2017) and I think is a replacement for Hampton WW.

Interesting because according to Wunderground today Stansted Airport had, albeit briefly, a max of 38.

Here's the screen grab

Are we certain the 38.1 is Cambridge NIAB and not a phoned in reading from the Botanic Garden?

Good question. The Met do seem curiously tight lipped about the source of their data.

I wonder if they are still accepting readings from the supposedly verified Cambridge Guildhall roof station, if it's still there, as they did in 2003.

I see no reason to think it's not. NIAB had an hourly reading of 37.6C at 4pm so 38.1C seems more than plausible.

Brogdale will apparently be checked tomorrow morning. 

i now have an image in my mind of them looking for the keys!

Quick, somebody drive up there with a hairdryer 

All should become clear(ish) when they publish the daily records around midnight.

30C at 10pm here, incredible.  

NIAB are claiming it in a tweet. And yes, it's in Histon not Cambridge. Grrrr!

Meanwhile on the Continent, records tumble

Paris 42.6C (highest ever for Paris itself)

and national records, provisional at this stage

Germany (Lingen) 41.5C

Belgium (Kleine Breughel - spelling dubious, this was on BBC news audio) 40.6C

Netherlands (Gilze an Rijen) 40.4C

https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/All-Time-Heat-Records-Melt-Europe-Worst-Come-Thursday?cm_ven=cat6-widget

This tweet about the 214 year record at the Oxford Radcliffe falling is quite impressive.

We might although it won’t be easy.

Heathrow and Nottingham both at 28.0C at 2200. The Donna Nook reading is erroneous.