The partial reopening of night clubs and restaurants marked the latest loosening of COVID-19 restrictions in England since it imposed a nationwide lockdown on January 5, BBC reported Tuesday.

People who relished their first night out described the ambience as "exciting", "a bit scary" and "a total riot" as the country cautiously reopened hospitality and retail venues.

Many queued up outside retailers across England for their first taste of shopping in months while some trooped to barbershops and salons for a haircut. At fitness centers, customers lined up, all eager to break a sweat.

"I'm so excited to see my clients, to see how they are doing and give them that feeling they get from having had their hair done," Maggie Grieve, manager of Beaucatcher Hairdressers in north London, said in remarks quoted by Reuters.

After enforcing the most strenuous restrictions in England's peacetime history, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the reopening a "major step" towards freedom but urged Britons to behave in accordance with the law as the coronavirus hasn't been totally eradicated.

In the Soho disctrict, people welcomed the sight of West End "buzzing again" with life.

"There's a wonderfully raucous hysteria everywhere. It's very celebratory," media communications manager Attila Kulcsar said.

In Newcastle, the locals said it was "worth it" to brave the cold pub terraces.

In Scotland and Wales, students are returning to school, while Northern Ireland's "stay-at-home" order is being lifted.

And with Ramadan set this week, mosques are preparing for the influx of devotees, after a year of canceled traditional community and family gatherings.

Police and coronavirus marshalls were visible in public, but they were just allowing the people to walk around, mingle and go places.

There was no social distancing. Everyone's enjoying their time out in the open.