Upcoming Holidays and Festivals in England
- Before planning a trip around a festival, verify the festival dates on the festival’s website or with a local tourist information office. For more information about these and other events, contact the Visit Britain office.
- This list includes major festivals in major cities, plus national holidays observed throughout England. Many sights and banks close down on national holidays — keep it in mind when planning your itinerary. Note that this isn’t a complete list; holidays can strike without warning.
- Many British towns have holiday festivals in late November and early December, with markets, music, and entertainment in the Christmas spirit. Two of these include York’s St. Nicholas Fayre and Keswick’s Victorian Fayre.
- See upcoming holidays and festivals across Europe
2015
January 1: New Year’s Day (closures)
February 13–20: London Fashion Week
February 14–22: Jorvik Viking Festival (costumed warriors, battles; York)
February 27–March 8: Bath Literature Festival
April 3–6: Easter Weekend (Good Friday through Easter Monday; some closures)
May 4: Early May Bank Holiday
May 7–10: Keswick Jazz Festival
May 19–23: Chelsea Flower Show (London)
May 15–25: Bath International Music Festival
May 25: Spring Bank Holiday
May 23–June 8: Bath Fringe Festival (alternative music, dance, and theater)
June 5–6: Keswick Beer Festival (music, shows)
June 13: Trooping the Colour, London (military bands and pageantry, Queen’s birthday parade)
June 16–20: Royal Ascot horse races (near Windsor)
June 23–28: Golowan Festival (midsummer celebration, Penzance)
June 29–July 12: Wimbledon Tennis Championship (London)
Mid-July: Early Music Festival (York)
July 30–August 2: Cambridge Folk Festival
August 30–31 (likely): Notting Hill Carnival (costumes, Caribbean music; London)
August 31: Summer Bank Holiday
September 4–October 8 (likely): Blackpool Illuminations (waterfront light festival)
September 11–20: Jane Austen Festival (Bath)
September 12–16: London Fashion Week
September 18–27: York Food and Drink Festival
November 5: Guy Fawkes Night (fireworks, bonfires, effigy-burning of 1605 traitor Guy Fawkes)
November 9: Remembrance Sunday (people wear poppies on lapels, royals lay wreaths at Cenotaph on Whitehall in London for WWI dead)
November 11: Remembrance Day (two minutes of silence at 11:00 to remember WWI dead)
November 14: Lord Mayor’s Show (traditional pageants in the City of London, including horse-drawn coach parades and fireworks)
December 24–26: Christmas holidays