People are taking advantage of this bank holiday weekend to give an extra day to unpack and get organised before they have to head back to work.

Summer weather with children off school mean that August is the month to move! The hottest month of the year experiences the highest volume of annual moves in the UK, with twice as many moves taking place than in January.

The most popular day of the week to move is revealed as a Thursday, with moving company, Pickfords saying the bank holiday weekend really stared yesterday for many movers.

Moving down south

The research has pinpointed the South East as the most popular moving destination in the UK. Out of the 11 regions surveyed, the South East experienced the highest volume of activity (25% of total moves) and was ranked the most popular region for house buyers after attracting and retaining 26% of all movers within the region.

The South West was the next most active area in terms of moves (14% of all UK activity), attracting and retaining the second highest amount of movers to the region (14%), with the Midlands ranked as the third most popular home buying destination (13%).

Move activity per region % (Movements within and to region) South East 26% South West 14% Midlands 13% North East 12% Scotland 11% London 7% East Anglia 7% North West 5% Wales 3% Channel Islands 1% Northern Ireland 1 %

But despite the highest amount of activity and growth in the South, Scottish cities came out top when it came to the most desirable postcodes with Glasgow (1^st) and Edinburgh (3^rd) ranked in the top three most popular moving destinations. Nottingham was the second hottest postcode, with Bristol ranked in 4^th position and Newcastle Upon Tyne coming in fifth.

According to Martyn Hocking editor of property magazine Location, Location, Location, "Improvements to major road and rail links, coupled with technology advancements and flexible attitudes towards home working means that people do not need to be city bound, and can work from rural locations such as the South East and West, which may explain the growth in these areas."

Far, Far Away

Whilst people are heading down south in the UK, the research has shown that more and more of us relocating down under. Pickfords' Move Monitor has shown that 28% of all their customers are heading overseas. Beaches and BBQs are the order of the day as Australia is the number one relocation destination for Britons - just under a third of these home movers are heading down under.