Aberdeen Trades Holiday 2026 — Fortnight and Local Days

Also on Bank Holidays UK: Edinburgh Trades Holiday and Local Public Holidays · Dundee Trades Holiday: 2026 and 2027 Dates · London Bank Holidays 2026

Aberdeen keeps the shortest local holiday list of Scotland’s four cities — four days — but it is the only one that formally names a trades fortnight rather than a single trades day.

Quick answer: The first day of Aberdeen’s trades fortnight in 2026 is Monday 13 July. The city’s other local holidays that year are the April holiday on 20 April, the May holiday on 4 May and the September holiday on 28 September. None of them are UK bank holidays.

Aberdeen City local holidays 2026

Date 2026	Day	Holiday
20 April	Monday	April holiday
4 May	Monday	May holiday
13 July	Monday	First day of trades fortnight
28 September	Monday	September holiday

These dates come from the Scottish Joint Industry Board’s 2026 circular of local public holidays, which the electrical contracting industry uses to schedule site closures across Scotland. Aberdeen City Council publishes its own list, and council-employee holidays are not always identical to the trade calendar. Confirm the exact dates with the council before booking anything that depends on them — and note that the New Year and Christmas dates follow the national bank holiday pattern on top of the four local days above.

Why Aberdeen’s fortnight starts in the second week of July

The north-east industrial year was built on fishing, granite and shipbuilding rather than on cotton or jute, and its holiday fell accordingly — early enough in July to sit before the Glasgow and Dundee shutdowns, which mattered when the same coastal resorts and the same railway capacity served all of them.

Aberdeen’s granite yards and, later, its engineering works closed for the fortnight together. Offshore oil changed the economics from the 1970s: a rig cannot take a fortnight off, and a workforce on rotational shifts does not observe a fixed local holiday. The fortnight survives in the council calendar and in parts of construction rather than across the city’s main employer.

Aberdeenshire is a different problem entirely

Aberdeen City has four local holidays. Aberdeenshire, the council area surrounding it, has no single list at all — holidays are set town by town, and the differences are substantial:

Town or area	Local holidays 2026	Trades fortnight
Banff and Macduff	9 February, 6 April, 4 May, 7 September, 12 October	6–17 July
Fraserburgh	6 April, 4 May, 15 June, 14 September, 12 October	6–17 July
Peterhead	6 April, 4 May, 1 June, 7 September	6–17 July
Inverurie	6 April, 1 June, 3 August, 5 October	—
Turriff	2 February, 6 April, 3 August, 5 October	—
Ballater	2 March, 6 April, 1 June, 5 October	—
Braemar	2 March, 6 April, 5 October	—
Banchory	6 April, 1 June, 7 September	—

A firm operating across the north-east therefore deals with a dozen different holiday calendars inside two council areas. Moray, immediately to the west, works the same way — Elgin, Buckie, Keith and Forres all keep separate lists. The full picture is in our Scottish local holidays by council table.

What this means in practice

Council services, registrars and schools in Aberdeen close on the four city holidays.
Refuse collections shift; the council publishes revised dates.
Banks, supermarkets and public transport run normally — local holidays do not touch the banking calendar. See banks on bank holidays for the days that do.
Construction and electrical contracting sites across the north-east commonly close for the trades fortnight.
Aberdeen also observes the national Scottish bank holidays, which are a separate list — see bank holidays in Scotland.

For the wider history of why these dates exist at all, see our guide to trades holidays in Scotland.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Aberdeen trades fortnight 2026?

It begins on Monday 13 July 2026 according to the Scottish Joint Industry Board’s local public holidays circular for the year. The fortnight runs for the following two weeks. Confirm with Aberdeen City Council for the definitive local list.

What local holidays does Aberdeen have?

Four in 2026: the April holiday on 20 April, the May holiday on 4 May, the first day of the trades fortnight on 13 July and the September holiday on 28 September. These sit alongside, not instead of, Scotland’s national bank holidays.

Are Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire holidays the same?

No. Aberdeen City has a single list; Aberdeenshire sets holidays town by town, so Fraserburgh, Peterhead, Turriff, Banchory and Braemar all keep different dates. Check the specific town rather than the council area.

Is the Aberdeen trades holiday a bank holiday?

No. It is a local public holiday and it has no legal standing beyond the area that observes it. Banks, shops, trains and the financial settlement system are entirely unaffected.

Sources

Checked September 2026. Opening hours and local holiday dates change — always confirm with the operator or council before you travel.