UK Bank Holiday Weekends 2027: Every Long Weekend by Nation

Of the UK bank holiday weekends 2027 brings, England and Wales get six: one at New Year, a four-day Easter, two in May, one at the end of August and a four-day break at Christmas. Scotland also has six, on some different dates, and Northern Ireland has seven.

Every bank holiday in England and Wales falls on a Monday or a Friday in 2027, or moves to one, so each makes a long weekend. Christmas Day (a Saturday) and Boxing Day (a Sunday) both move to the following Monday and Tuesday.

UK bank holiday weekends 2027 in England and Wales

The table shows each break of three days or more, from the first day off to the last, counting weekends.

All eight bank holidays for England and Wales, on their actual dates:

The substitute days for Christmas and Boxing Day are Monday 27 December and Tuesday 28 December. That gives a four-day break from Saturday 25 December, the same length as Easter.

Scotland’s bank holiday weekends in 2027

Scotland has nine bank holidays and its own pattern. There is no Easter Monday, the summer bank holiday is at the start of August rather than the end, and 2 January and St Andrew’s Day are added.

• New Year gives Scotland a four-day weekend: 1 January is a Friday and 2 January a Saturday, so the 2 January holiday moves to Monday 4 January, giving four days off.
• Easter is three days rather than four, from Good Friday to Easter Sunday.
• The summer bank holiday is Monday 2 August.
• St Andrew’s Day is Tuesday 30 November, so it doesn’t make a long weekend unless you take Monday 29 November off as well.

Banks follow these dates, but many Scottish employers set their own local holidays instead, so check yours.

Northern Ireland’s bank holiday weekends in 2027

Northern Ireland has ten bank and public holidays: the eight in England and Wales plus St Patrick’s Day and the Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day).

The extra long weekend is in July: Monday 12 July gives a break from Saturday 10 to Monday 12 July. St Patrick’s Day falls on a Wednesday (Wednesday 17 March), in the middle of the week.

How to stretch the 2027 bank holidays

A few days of annual leave next to a bank holiday go a long way. These are the best options in England and Wales:

New Year’s Day 2028 falls on a Saturday, so under the usual rule a substitute bank holiday follows on Monday 3 January 2028. If that is confirmed, the Christmas break above stretches to ten days for the same three days of leave. Check the GOV.UK list once the 2028 dates are published.

Easter is the best value of the year: four days of leave buy ten days off. Remember that school Easter holidays vary by area, so families should check their council’s term dates before booking.

Where the gaps are

The bank holidays in England and Wales cluster in the first two thirds of the year. After Easter at the end of March, the next three come on 3 May, 31 May and 30 August, and then there is nothing from the end of August until Christmas. That autumn stretch of almost four months is the best place to put a week of leave if you want a break spread through the year.

January is the other long gap: after New Year’s Day there is no bank holiday until Good Friday on 26 March.

Plan the year around your bank holidays

1. Mark your nation’s dates. England, Scotland and Northern Ireland differ, and Wales follows England.
2. Book the bridge days early. Easter and the days between Christmas and New Year fill up fast in most teams.
3. Check your contract. Bank holidays are not a legal right to paid time off in the UK; many employers include them in your annual leave, so ask how yours are counted.
4. Write it down. A printed year planner on the wall keeps everyone’s leave visible.

The same idea works anywhere: see every US long weekend in 2027 and Canada’s long weekends in 2027 if you work with teams abroad, or Australia’s long weekends by state.

Print a 2027 calendar with UK bank holidays

The 2027 calendar with UK bank holidays lets you choose England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland and prints every bank holiday and substitute day on the page. For a closer look at the busiest month, the December 2027 calendar shows the Christmas substitute days in full.