UK public holidays 2026 — the full calendar

UK public holidays 2026: the full list

The UK has four sets of bank holidays — one for England and Wales, one for Scotland, and one for Northern Ireland. Most dates overlap, but each nation has at least one or two of its own. The table below covers every public holiday in 2026, with day of the week and the nations that observe it. All dates are taken from the official GOV.UK bank holidays list.

That works out to 8 bank holidays in England and Wales, 10 in Scotland (including the one-off World Cup holiday announced for June), and 10 in Northern Ireland. England and Wales remain at the bottom of the European league table for paid public holidays — one reason employers there usually offer 25 days of additional annual leave on top.

Differences between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

The Life in the UK Test expects you to understand that public holidays are not identical across the four nations. The handbook calls these bank holidays because they were originally introduced by the Bank Holidays Act 1871 as days on which banks (and therefore most businesses) closed.

England and Wales

The most common pattern. New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, two May Mondays, the last Monday of August, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. When Boxing Day (26 December) falls on a Saturday — as it does in 2026 — the bank holiday is moved to the next available weekday. That's why 28 December 2026 (Monday) is the official substitute day.

Scotland

Scotland keeps 2nd January as a holiday — a nod to the long Hogmanay celebrations on New Year's Eve. It does notobserve Easter Monday as a formal bank holiday, though many workplaces still close. Its summer bank holiday falls earlier than the rest of the UK — the first Monday in August rather than the last. And St Andrew's Day on 30 November has been a Scottish bank holiday since 2007, honouring Scotland's patron saint.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland follows the England and Wales calendar but adds two of its own: St Patrick's Day on 17 March (the patron saint of Ireland) and the Battle of the Boyne on 12 July — known locally as the Twelfth or Orangemen's Day. In 2026, the Twelfth falls on a Sunday, so the bank holiday moves to Monday 13 July.

Christian holidays in 2026 — Easter and Christmas

Two of the four UK-wide public holidays are Christian feast days, which reflects the fact that — as the handbook puts it — Christianity has shaped many of the laws, traditions and festivals of the UK.

Easter 2026

Easter is a moveable feast set by the lunar calendar. In 2026:

• Good Friday — 3 April: marks the crucifixion of Jesus. A bank holiday in all four nations.
• Easter Sunday — 5 April: not a bank holiday, but the day Christians celebrate the resurrection. Hot cross buns and chocolate eggs are traditional.
• Easter Monday — 6 April: a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Not in Scotland.

Christmas 2026

Christmas Day falls on Friday 25 December. Boxing Day (26 December) falls on Saturday, so the bank holiday is observed on Monday 28 December across the UK. The week between Christmas and New Year is one of the quietest of the year — many businesses simply close until 2 January. The handbook notes that Christmas is the most widely celebrated festival in the UK, marked by people of all faiths and none.

Other national observances (not bank holidays)

Several dates the Life in the UK Test asks about are festivals or commemorations rather than bank holidays. Shops and offices still open, but they form an important part of British civic and cultural life.

Patron saints' days

• 1 March — St David's Day (Wales). Not a bank holiday in Wales, though there have been campaigns to make it one.
• 17 March — St Patrick's Day (Northern Ireland). The only patron saint's day that is also a UK bank holiday.
• 23 April — St George's Day (England). Falls on a Thursday in 2026. Not a bank holiday.
• 30 November — St Andrew's Day (Scotland). A Scottish bank holiday since 2007.

Other key dates

• 25 January — Burns Night: Scottish tradition celebrating the poet Robert Burns, with haggis, neeps and tatties, and recitations of his poetry.
• 14 February — Valentine's Day: cards and gifts exchanged between couples.
• 15 March — Mothering Sunday (Mother's Day): in 2026 falls in March, three weeks before Easter.
• 1 April — April Fools' Day: tradition of practical jokes until midday.
• 5 November — Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes Night): fireworks and bonfires to mark the failure of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament.
• 8 November — Remembrance Sunday (the Sunday closest to 11 November): wreaths laid at war memorials and a two-minute silence at 11am. Many people wear a red poppy in the days before.
• 11 November — Armistice Day: the formal anniversary of the end of the First World War in 1918, with a two-minute silence observed nationally.
• 31 October — Hallowe'en: pumpkins, costumes and trick-or-treating.

Each of these dates is covered in Chapter 4 of the official handbook, which our free Chapter 4 study guide works through in detail.

How public holidays appear on the Life in the UK Test

You won't be asked the date of every bank holiday — but the test regularly includes questions about UK customs, festivals and traditions. Typical question patterns include:

• Identifying the patron saint of England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
• Knowing what is commemorated on Bonfire Night (the Gunpowder Plot of 1605).
• Recognising what happens on Remembrance Sunday — the poppy, the two-minute silence, war memorials.
• Naming traditional foods and customs associated with Christmas, Easter or Burns Night.
• Knowing which festivals are religious (Easter, Christmas, Diwali, Hanukkah, Eid) versus secular (New Year, Bonfire Night).

The handbook treats public holidays as part of British cultural life, not as a list of dates to memorise. Aim to understand why each observance exists rather than rote-learning the calendar. Our free practice questions include a Chapter 4 section that drills exactly the kind of customs and festivals you'll meet on the real exam.

Frequently asked questions

How many bank holidays does the UK have in 2026?

It depends on the nation. England and Wales have 8; Scotland has 10 (including the one-off 15 June World Cup bank holiday); Northern Ireland has 10. The UK is relatively low on paid public holidays compared with most European countries.

Do shops open on bank holidays?

Most large shops open on bank holidays, though with shorter hours. The one exception is Christmas Day, when nearly all shops close — the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 bans large shops in England and Wales from opening at all. Sunday trading rules also limit large stores in England and Wales to six hours on Sundays. On Easter Sunday, large shops in England and Wales must stay closed under the same legislation.

Do banks open on bank holidays?

No — that's the whole point. Bank branches close on the eight (or ten) days listed above. Online banking, cash machines and most card payments continue to work normally, but BACS payments, cheque clearing and certain transfers are paused until the next working day.

Is Good Friday a bank holiday in Scotland?

Yes. Good Friday is a UK-wide bank holiday. Easter Monday is the one that Scotland does not observe.

What happens if a bank holiday falls on a weekend?

The bank holiday is moved to the next available weekday — called a substitute day. In 2026 this affects Boxing Day (26 December falls on Saturday, so Monday 28 December becomes the substitute day) and the Battle of the Boyne in Northern Ireland (12 July falls on Sunday, so Monday 13 July becomes the substitute day).

Are you legally entitled to bank holidays off work?

There is no automatic legal right to time off on a bank holiday. Whether you get the day off — and whether you get paid for it — depends on your employment contract. Many contracts in the UK include bank holidays as part of the statutory minimum 28 days of paid leave, but the day itself is not protected by law.

Use 2026's holidays as study milestones

If you're booked in for the Life in the UK Test this year, the long weekends are useful study anchors. Each of the bank holidays in the calendar above is a chance to sit a mock test under exam conditions, drill the chapter you're weakest on, or read through the relevant part of the handbook. The test costs £50 a sitting, so taking three or four passing mocks before booking is the cheapest insurance against having to repeat it.