Bank holidays · 2026 and 2027
UK bank holidays 2026
England and Wales have 8 bank holidays in 2026: all of them on working days. The next one is Christmas Day on Friday, December 25, 2026, in 88 days. Scotland and Northern Ireland follow different lists: see by nation.
Dates as of Monday, September 28, 2026. Source: the open-source holidays library, version 0.105.How 2026 falls in England and Wales
Counting Saturday and Sunday as the weekend, 8 of the 8 holiday dates in 2026 fall on a working day and none on a weekend.
Counting Saturday and Sunday as the weekend, 8 of the 8 holiday dates in 2026 fall on a working day and none on a weekend. The most common weekday for a holiday is Monday, with 5 dates.
Seven of the 8 dates land on a Monday or Friday, next to the weekend, so they make a long weekend without using any leave: Good Friday on Friday, April 3, Easter Monday on Monday, April 6, May Day on Monday, May 4, Spring Bank Holiday on Monday, May 25, Late Summer Bank Holiday on Monday, August 31, Christmas Day on Friday, December 25, and 1 more. One more holiday sits one working day away from the weekend, so a single day of leave turns it into a four-day break: New Year's Day on Thursday, January 1 (take Friday off).
April, May and December are the busiest months, with 2 holiday dates. Seven months have no bank holiday at all (February, March, June, July, September, October and November). The longest stretch between two holidays is 116 days, from Late Summer Bank Holiday on August 31 to Christmas Day on December 25, the natural window for a longer break.
One entry is an observed, substitute or bridge day that moves a holiday onto a working day: Boxing Day (observed) on December 28.
2027 brings 8 bank holidays, the same number as 2026. 8 of the 8 dates fall on a working day, and 7 land next to the weekend.
The .ics files import into Google Calendar, Outlook and Apple Calendar as all-day events. They cover England and Wales.
2026 bank holidays in England and Wales
| Date | Weekday | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | New Year's Day | |
| Friday | Good Friday | |
| Monday | Easter Monday | |
| Monday | May Day | |
| Monday | Spring Bank Holiday | |
| Monday | Late Summer Bank Holiday | |
| FridayNext | Christmas Day | |
| SaturdayMoved | Boxing Day | |
| Monday | Boxing Day (observed) |
2027 bank holidays in England and Wales
8 bank holidays on 8 dates in England and Wales.
| Date | Weekday | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Friday | New Year's Day | |
| Friday | Good Friday | |
| Monday | Easter Monday | |
| Monday | May Day | |
| Monday | Spring Bank Holiday | |
| Monday | Late Summer Bank Holiday | |
| SaturdayMoved | Christmas Day | |
| SundayMoved | Boxing Day | |
| Monday | Christmas Day (observed) | |
| Tuesday | Boxing Day (observed) |
By nation: regional bank holidays 2026
Two of the 3 nations add dates of their own to the England and Wales 2026 list.
Two of the 3 nations add dates of their own to the England and Wales 2026 list. Scotland has the most, with 4 extra dates beyond the England and Wales calendar. Each card lists only what differs from the England and Wales list above: extra 2026 dates, dates on that list the nation does not observe, and holidays kept on the same date under a local name.
Northern Ireland
| March 17, Tue | Saint Patrick's Day |
| July 12, Sun | Battle of the Boyne |
| July 13, Mon | Battle of the Boyne (observed) |
Scotland
| January 2, Fri | New Year Holiday |
| June 15, Mon | Scotland's participation in the FIFA World Cup final |
| August 3, Mon | Summer Bank Holiday |
| November 30, Mon | Saint Andrew's Day |
Not observed: Easter Monday (April 6) and Late Summer Bank Holiday (August 31).
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