Public Holidays in the UK

Visitors to London should be aware that the UK has eight statutory public holidays, known as Bank Holidays, because by tradition banks aren’t allowed to open on these days. Most people will get these days off work although shops, restaurants and places of entertainment should all be open but expect public transport to run a reduced Sunday service.
The holidays to note are as follows;

* New Years Day - if January 1 falls on a weekend the Monday after will become the public holiday

* Good Friday - as the actual date of Easter follows the Liturgic calendar the time of this holiday changes from year to year

* Easter Monday - the Monday after Easter Sunday, again changes from year to year

* May Day - the first Monday in May, which in 2007 will be May 7

* Spring Bank Holiday - used to be called Whitsun, the Monday after the seventh Sunday after Easter, but now the holiday has been fixed to the last Monday in May. In 2007 this will be May 28

* August Bank Holiday - the last Monday in August, in 2007 it will be August 27

* Christmas Day December 25 - the one day of the year when pretty much everything will be closed. Pubs will be open for a few hours at lunchtime and a few will open for a while in the evening and some small shops will open but generally the quietest day of the year.

* Boxing Day December 26 - traditionally a day when people go to sporting events, football, horseracing etc or shopping, a lot of stores will have sales starting on this day

It’s important to note that if Christmas Day fell on a Saturday, the Monday and Tuesday after would be taken as the public holiday days for Christmas Day and Boxing Day

Scotland and Northern Ireland have a couple of variations to the English Bank Holidays and some government workers may get an additional day for the Queens Birthday but this shouldn’t impact on visitors.