There are eight bank holidays for England and Wales in 2026
As we head further into January, many people have started to look ahead to hopefully some warmer weather and some well-earned breaks from work. For some people, annual leave resets at the beginning of the calendar year, meaning a brand new batch to use.
And there are ways to make this leave stretch further. If you get weekends and bank holidays off as standard, you can look forward to a number of long weekends in 2026, with some eight bank holidays for England and Wales this year.
The next bank holiday will fall on Friday, April 3 (Good Friday). This is because Easter occurs on Sunday, April 5, this year – meaning Monday, April 6 (Easter Monday) is a bank holiday too. If you don’t work weekends or bank holidays, this will mean a four day break from your job.
And if you’re savvy about booking certain dates off, you can stretch this into some 14 days off, using just eight days of leave. You’ll need to book off Monday and Tuesday, March 30 and 31, as well as Wednesday and Thursday, April 1 and 2, and Tuesday-Friday, April 7-10 off.
Other long weekends will take place in May, with bank holidays falling on the first Monday (May 4) and the last Monday (May 25), as well as in August with the summer bank holiday occurring on Monday August 31.
Bank holidays for England and Wales in 2026
- Thursday, January 1 – New Year’s Day
- Friday, April 3 – Good Friday
- Monday, April 6 – Easter Monday
- Monday, May 4 – Early May bank holiday
- Monday, May 25 – Spring bank holiday
- Monday, August 31 – Summer bank holiday
- Friday, December 25 – Christmas Day
- Monday, December 28 – Boxing Day (substitute day)
