Public holidays 2026 in United Kingdom
There are 7 nationwide public holidays in 2026. Another 9 apply only in some nations – the table shows where. The exact list for each nation is on its own page.
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| Date | Weekday | Holiday | Applies in | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | New Year's Day | nationwide | ||
| Friday | New Year Holiday | Scotland | ||
| Tuesday | Saint Patrick's Day | Northern Ireland | ||
| Friday | Good Friday | nationwide | ||
| Monday | Easter Monday | England, Northern Ireland, Wales | ||
| Monday | May Day | nationwide | ||
| Monday | Spring Bank Holiday | nationwide | ||
| Monday | Scotland's participation in the FIFA World Cup final | Scotland | ||
| Sunday | Battle of the Boyne | Northern Ireland | ||
| Monday | Battle of the Boyne (observed) | Northern Ireland | ||
| Monday | Summer Bank Holiday | Scotland | ||
| Monday | Late Summer Bank Holiday | England, Northern Ireland, Wales | ||
| Monday | Saint Andrew's Day | Scotland | ||
| Friday | Christmas Day | nationwide | ||
| Saturday | Boxing Day | nationwide | ||
| Monday | Boxing Day (observed) | nationwide |
Days marked "observed" are substitute days off when a holiday falls on a weekend. Holidays based on a lunar calendar can shift by a day once the official announcement is made.
Public holidays by nation
| nation | public holidays | on Mon–Fri |
|---|---|---|
| Public holidays 2026 England | 9 | 8 |
| Public holidays 2026 Northern Ireland | 12 | 10 |
| Public holidays 2026 Scotland | 11 | 10 |
| Public holidays 2026 Wales | 9 | 8 |
Long weekends 2026
6 times a public holiday lies close to a weekend – with a little leave it becomes a long weekend: (nationwide)
| Take leave | Off | Days of leave | Days off | Ratio | Occasion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 2 Jan | 1 Jan – 4 Jan 2026 | 1 | 4 | 4 | New Year's Day |
| Mon 30 Mar, Tue 31 Mar, Wed 1 Apr, Thu 2 Apr | 28 Mar – 5 Apr 2026 | 4 | 9 | 2.3 | Good Friday |
| Tue 5 May, Wed 6 May, Thu 7 May, Fri 8 May | 2 May – 10 May 2026 | 4 | 9 | 2.3 | May Day |
| Tue 26 May, Wed 27 May, Thu 28 May, Fri 29 May | 23 May – 31 May 2026 | 4 | 9 | 2.3 | Spring Bank Holiday |
| Mon 21 Dec, Tue 22 Dec, Wed 23 Dec, Thu 24 Dec | 19 Dec – 28 Dec 2026 | 4 | 10 | 2.5 | Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Boxing Day (observed) |
| Tue 29 Dec, Wed 30 Dec, Thu 31 Dec | 25 Dec – 3 Jan 2027 | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Boxing Day (observed), New Year's Day |
Counted are gaps of up to four working days between a public holiday and the weekend or another public holiday. "Ratio" = days off per day of leave. Weekends follow the local working week.
Dates are generated from the open-source library python-holidays and automatically cross-checked against Nager.Date and the public Google Calendar holiday calendars; every holiday on a working day must be confirmed by a second source. Official announcements take precedence, especially for holidays that depend on the moon or are declared at short notice.
Sources
- Data: python-holidays 0.105 (MIT licence), country code GB (retrieved Sep 27, 2026)
- Cross-check: Nager.Date public holiday API (MIT licence) (retrieved Sep 27, 2026)
- Cross-check: Google Calendar public holiday calendar (en.uk) (retrieved Sep 27, 2026)
Last updated:
Other years
- Public holidays 2026
- Public holidays 2027