UK Bank Holidays 2026: Long Weekend Guide

The UK keeps four separate bank holiday calendars — one each for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland — and 2026 is a good year to know which one applies to you. Both May Mondays land clear of half-term, the two Summer Bank Holidays sit four weeks apart, and the festive week offers the best leave maths of the whole year: three days of annual leave for ten days off. Here is the full 2026 calendar and where to spend your days.

Every UK bank holiday in 2026

• Thu, Jan 1 — New Year's Day (all four nations)
• Fri, Jan 2 — 2 January (Scotland only)
• Tue, Mar 17 — Saint Patrick's Day (Northern Ireland)
• Fri, Apr 3 — Good Friday (all four nations)
• Mon, Apr 6 — Easter Monday (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
• Mon, May 4 — Early May Bank Holiday (all four nations)
• Mon, May 25 — Spring Bank Holiday (all four nations)
• Mon, Jun 15 — World Cup Bank Holiday (proposed — confirm with your employer before booking travel)
• Mon, Jul 13 — Battle of the Boyne (Northern Ireland)
• Mon, Aug 3 — Summer Bank Holiday (Scotland)
• Mon, Aug 31 — Summer Bank Holiday (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
• Mon, Nov 30 — Saint Andrew's Day (Scotland)
• Fri, Dec 25 — Christmas Day (all four nations)
• Mon, Dec 28 — St. Stephen's Day, better known as Boxing Day (substitute day, as 26 December is a Saturday)

The best play: ten days off for three days of leave

The festive week is the standout of 2026. Christmas Day falls on Friday, Dec 25 and the Boxing Day substitute lands on Monday, Dec 28. Book just three days — Tue–Thu, Dec 29–31 — and New Year's Day 2027 (Friday, Jan 1) closes the run for free. You are off from Fri, Dec 25 through Sun, Jan 3: ten consecutive days for three days of leave.

It is also the most competitive leave window in any British workplace, so get the request in early. If your team rotates festive cover, the fallback is Dec 21–24 (four days), which still gives you Dec 19 through Jan 3.

The Scottish start to the year

New Year's Day falls on Thursday, Jan 1 and Scotland adds 2 January on the Friday. Scottish workers get a four-day weekend to open 2026 with no leave at all. Elsewhere in the UK, one day (Fri, Jan 2) buys the same four days.

Easter: four days free, ten days for four

Good Friday (Fri, Apr 3) and Easter Monday (Mon, Apr 6) hand England, Wales and Northern Ireland a four-day weekend for nothing. To go long, take Tue–Fri, Mar 31–Apr 2 and the break runs Sat, Mar 28 through Mon, Apr 6 — nine days off for four days of leave, right as the UK spring gets going.

Scotland does not observe Easter Monday, so Scottish workers should add Apr 6 to that list.

One-day bridges worth taking

• Saint Patrick's Day — Tue, Mar 17 in Northern Ireland; take Mon, Mar 16 for a four-day break from Mar 14.
• Saint Andrew's Day — Mon, Nov 30 gives Scotland an automatic three-day weekend. Add Tue–Fri, Dec 1–4 and you are off Nov 28 through Dec 6, nine days for four.
• Battle of the Boyne — Mon, Jul 13, a built-in three-day weekend in Northern Ireland at the height of summer.

The May and August Mondays

Four Mondays are free long weekends with no leave spent:

• Mon, May 4 — Early May Bank Holiday
• Mon, May 25 — Spring Bank Holiday, overlapping most English half-terms
• Mon, Aug 3 — Summer Bank Holiday in Scotland
• Mon, Aug 31 — Summer Bank Holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

The Aug 3 and Aug 31 split is useful if you have colleagues or family on both sides of the border: two separate long weekends four weeks apart, rather than one shared date.

Where the four nations differ

• 2 January is Scotland only — and in 2026 it is a Friday, which is the best possible landing for it.
• Saint Patrick's Day and Battle of the Boyne are Northern Ireland only.
• Saint Andrew's Day is Scotland only, and many Scottish employers treat it as a voluntary day rather than a guaranteed one. Check your contract first.
• Easter Monday is not a bank holiday in Scotland.

Counting the proposed June date, Northern Ireland has the longest 2026 list, Scotland the second, and England and Wales the shortest.

A note on the proposed June bank holiday

The World Cup Bank Holiday on Mon, Jun 15 appears in the 2026 calendar but is not a permanent fixture like the others. Treat it as provisional: it is a bonus if it is confirmed for your workplace, not a date to build non-refundable travel around.

Build your own 2026 calendar

Run the bridge-day maths against your own leave balance with our UK leave planner for 2026, then look ahead with the 2027 UK bank holiday guide or compare against France's 2026 calendar.

The takeaway for 2026: the December stretch is the prize — ten days off for three — and the January and Easter weekends cost almost nothing. Book the festive week first and plan everything else around it.