Long weekends and bank holidays in England & Wales 2026 and 2027
More holiday, fewer leave days.
Every bank holiday in England & Wales, the long weekends they make, and the leave hacks that stretch them into a proper break.
How many days of leave do you have?
Type a number. The plan below lists the days to book in England & Wales 2026.
Long weekends in England & Wales 2026
Three or more days off in a row with no annual leave needed.
Best times to book leave
Breaks of a week or more, in date order. The badge ranks them by days off per day booked. Book the highlighted weekdays.
Bank holidays in England & Wales 2026 and 2027
Greyed rows are part-day, regional or restricted days: shown for completeness, left out of the maths.
2026 Gazetted
| Date | Holiday | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 Jan | New Year's Day | |
| Fri 3 Apr | Good Friday | |
| Mon 6 Apr | Easter Monday | |
| Mon 4 May | Early May bank holiday | |
| Mon 25 May | Spring bank holiday | |
| Mon 31 Aug | Summer bank holiday | |
| Fri 25 Dec | Christmas Day | |
| Mon 28 Dec | Boxing Day (substitute day) | Boxing Day falls on a Saturday; the substitute is Monday 28 December. |
2027 Gazetted
| Date | Holiday | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 Jan | New Year's Day | |
| Fri 26 Mar | Good Friday | |
| Mon 29 Mar | Easter Monday | |
| Mon 3 May | Early May bank holiday | |
| Mon 31 May | Spring bank holiday | |
| Mon 30 Aug | Summer bank holiday | |
| Mon 27 Dec | Christmas Day (substitute day) | Christmas Day falls on a Saturday. |
| Tue 28 Dec | Boxing Day (substitute day) | Boxing Day falls on a Sunday. |
Sources
- 2026: https://www.gov.uk/bank-holidays.json — checked 2026-11-08. GOV.UK JSON feed, division england-and-wales.
- 2027: https://www.gov.uk/bank-holidays.json — checked 2026-11-08. GOV.UK JSON feed, division england-and-wales.
What's different in England & Wales
England and Wales share eight bank holidays a year: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, the early May and spring bank holidays, the late-August summer bank holiday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. When Christmas Day or Boxing Day falls on a weekend a substitute weekday is given, which is why 2027 has Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December. Easter is the big one: four days off for nothing, and a ten-day break for four days' leave.
How the hacks are worked out
We take every bank holiday for your nation, add the weekends, and look for stretches where a few days of annual leave bridge the gaps. A hack is any run of seven or more days off that you can unlock when you book one to nine days, measured from the first day you would be off to the last. They are ranked by days off per day booked, so three days for a ten-day Christmas break (3.3×) beats four for a nine-day May bank holiday week (2.3×). The budget planner picks the best non-overlapping hacks that fit the annual leave you have, then spends any days left over on short bridges such as a single day that turns a Thursday holiday into a four-day weekend.
Only bank holidays listed by GOV.UK are counted; local or company holidays are not. Hacks assume you work Monday to Friday.