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Six of the eight UK bank holidays in England and Wales fall on a Monday — creating six long weekends a year automatically. Here’s the full list for 2026.
The six Mondays in 2026
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| Monday 6 April | Easter Monday |
| Monday 4 May | Early May Bank Holiday |
| Monday 25 May | Spring Bank Holiday |
| Monday 13 July | Battle of the Boyne (NI sub) |
| Monday 31 August | Summer Bank Holiday (E/W/NI) |
| Monday 28 December | Boxing Day (substitute) |
Why so many Mondays?
The Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 deliberately moved several holidays to a Monday. Easter Monday was already a Monday by definition. The May Day Bank Holiday was put on the first Monday of May when introduced in 1978. Whit Monday became the Spring Bank Holiday on the last Monday of May. The Summer Bank Holiday was originally the first Monday in August (still the case in Scotland) but moved to the last Monday for England and Wales in 1965 to extend the school summer break.
What that means for you
Six guaranteed three-day weekends — assuming you don’t normally work weekends — is more time off than most countries pull out of their bank holiday calendar. Use them for the long weekend trips you keep meaning to plan.
Frequently asked
Is the answer to ‘bank holiday mondays uk’?
Six of the eight UK bank holidays fall on a Monday, creating long weekends.
Where is this defined in UK law?
The Bank Holidays Act 1871 and the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 are the two main statutes.
Do bank holidays change every year?
The dates change but the holidays themselves don’t. Some are tied to specific dates (Christmas, New Year), some to religious calendars (Easter), and some to fixed weekdays (first/last Monday of a month).