UK bank holidays and school holidays

A bank holiday is a public holiday: banks, many offices and some shops close, and the day often makes a long weekend. The dates below are GOV.UK’s own data for each nation, read on 1 November 2026.^[1] Always confirm on GOV.UK (opens in new tab) before you plan around a date.

2026 bank holidays

England and Wales: 8; Scotland: 10; Northern Ireland: 10.

Bank holidays in 2026 by nation. A tick means the day is a bank holiday there.

Date	Holiday	England and Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland
Thu, 1 Jan 2026	New Year's Day	✓Yes, England and Wales	✓Yes, Scotland	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Fri, 2 Jan 2026	2nd January	–No	✓Yes, Scotland	–No
Tue, 17 Mar 2026	St Patrick's Day	–No	–No	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Fri, 3 Apr 2026	Good Friday	✓Yes, England and Wales	✓Yes, Scotland	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Mon, 6 Apr 2026	Easter Monday	✓Yes, England and Wales	–No	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Mon, 4 May 2026	Early May bank holiday	✓Yes, England and Wales	✓Yes, Scotland	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Mon, 25 May 2026	Spring bank holiday	✓Yes, England and Wales	✓Yes, Scotland	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Mon, 15 Jun 2026	World Cup bank holiday	–No	✓Yes, Scotland	–No
Mon, 13 Jul 2026	Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen's Day) (substitute day)	–No	–No	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Mon, 3 Aug 2026	Summer bank holiday	–No	✓Yes, Scotland	–No
Mon, 31 Aug 2026	Summer bank holiday	✓Yes, England and Wales	–No	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Mon, 30 Nov 2026	St Andrew's Day	–No	✓Yes, Scotland	–No
Fri, 25 Dec 2026	Christmas Day	✓Yes, England and Wales	✓Yes, Scotland	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Mon, 28 Dec 2026	Boxing Day (substitute day)	✓Yes, England and Wales	✓Yes, Scotland	✓Yes, Northern Ireland

2027 bank holidays

England and Wales: 8; Scotland: 9; Northern Ireland: 10.

Bank holidays in 2027 by nation. A tick means the day is a bank holiday there.

Date	Holiday	England and Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland
Fri, 1 Jan 2027	New Year's Day	✓Yes, England and Wales	✓Yes, Scotland	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Mon, 4 Jan 2027	2nd January (substitute day)	–No	✓Yes, Scotland	–No
Wed, 17 Mar 2027	St Patrick's Day	–No	–No	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Fri, 26 Mar 2027	Good Friday	✓Yes, England and Wales	✓Yes, Scotland	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Mon, 29 Mar 2027	Easter Monday	✓Yes, England and Wales	–No	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Mon, 3 May 2027	Early May bank holiday	✓Yes, England and Wales	✓Yes, Scotland	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Mon, 31 May 2027	Spring bank holiday	✓Yes, England and Wales	✓Yes, Scotland	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Mon, 12 Jul 2027	Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen's Day)	–No	–No	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Mon, 2 Aug 2027	Summer bank holiday	–No	✓Yes, Scotland	–No
Mon, 30 Aug 2027	Summer bank holiday	✓Yes, England and Wales	–No	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Tue, 30 Nov 2027	St Andrew's Day	–No	✓Yes, Scotland	–No
Mon, 27 Dec 2027	Christmas Day (substitute day)	✓Yes, England and Wales	✓Yes, Scotland	✓Yes, Northern Ireland
Tue, 28 Dec 2027	Boxing Day (substitute day)	✓Yes, England and Wales	✓Yes, Scotland	✓Yes, Northern Ireland

Differences between the nations

• Scotland has 2 January and St Andrew’s Day (30 November), no Easter Monday, and its summer bank holiday is on the first Monday of August rather than the last. In 2026 it also has a World Cup bank holiday on Monday 15 June.^[1] See our Edinburgh, Glasgow and Highlands guides.
• Northern Ireland follows the England and Wales list and adds St Patrick’s Day (17 March) and the Battle of the Boyne (12 July, observed on Monday 13 July in 2026).^[1] See our Northern Ireland guide.
• England and Wales share one list of eight days a year.^[1] The four nations page explains the other practical differences.

School holidays

There is no single school holiday calendar for the UK. We list only what the official pages publish.

England

Set locally: each council (and some schools) publishes its own term dates.^[2] GOV.UK: find your local council's term dates (opens in new tab).

Wales

Set locally by each council; the same GOV.UK lookup covers Wales.^[2] GOV.UK: find your local council's term dates (opens in new tab).

Scotland

Each council publishes its own term dates, so they differ across Scotland.^[3] mygov.scot: term dates by council (opens in new tab).

Northern Ireland

The Department of Education lists the usual non-operational dates; schools can open on them and add their own staff training days.^[4] Department of Education: school holidays (opens in new tab).

Northern Ireland school closure dates for 2026/27

2026/27	Dates
Halloween	Thu, 29 Oct 2026 to Fri, 30 Oct 2026
Christmas and New Year	Mon, 21 Dec 2026 to Fri, 1 Jan 2027
Mid-term	Thu, 11 Feb 2027 to Fri, 12 Feb 2027
St Patrick's Day	Wed, 17 Mar 2027
Easter	Thu, 25 Mar 2027 to Fri, 2 Apr 2027
May Day	Mon, 3 May 2027
Spring bank holiday	Mon, 31 May 2027
Summer holiday begins	Thu, 1 Jul 2027

For 2026/27 only, the Minister also allowed three extra closure days: 25 September 2026, 25 January 2027 and 4 May 2027.^[4]

What it means for your trip

• Transport and prices. Travel guides note that bank holiday weekends make transport busier and tend to push prices up, and suggest avoiding travel to or from the UK on those weekends if your dates are flexible.^[5] We hold no official figure for how much. Book rail tickets and rooms early: see rail tickets and where to stay.
• Check your trains. Look up your route on travel status before a holiday weekend trip, in case of planned work or changed timetables.
• Opening hours. Shops, museums and attractions set their own hours on bank holidays. Check each one; our Sunday opening answer covers the legal limits on large shops.
• Busy dates beyond bank holidays. Festivals and big events fill rooms too: see high-demand dates for accommodation and what to book ahead.

Questions

Are bank holidays the same in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

No. GOV.UK publishes three lists: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Scotland has 2 January and St Andrew’s Day but no Easter Monday; Northern Ireland adds St Patrick’s Day and the Battle of the Boyne.

What is a substitute day?

When a bank holiday falls on a weekend, the next weekday becomes the holiday instead. GOV.UK marks these as substitute days, for example Boxing Day 2026 is observed on Monday 28 December.

Why is there a bank holiday in Scotland on 15 June 2026?

GOV.UK lists a World Cup bank holiday for Scotland on Monday 15 June 2026. It applies in Scotland only.

When are the school holidays?

There is no single UK date. In England, Wales and Scotland each council sets its own term dates; Northern Ireland’s Department of Education publishes the usual closure dates, which schools may vary. Use the official lookups on this page.