Long Weekends 2027: Every Bank Holiday Weekend and How to Stretch It

Last verified 27 September 2026 against the official GOV.UK bank holidays dataset.

2027 gives England and Wales six long weekends, Scotland six and Northern Ireland seven. The longest, at four days without any leave, are Easter (in England, Wales and Northern Ireland), New Year in Scotland and Christmas everywhere, when both bank holidays move to Monday 27 December 2027 and Tuesday 28 December 2027. With a few days of annual leave in the right places, the same calendar produces several breaks of nine days or more.

Long weekends 2027 at a glance

A long weekend here means three or more consecutive days off that include at least one bank holiday, without booking any leave. Dates are read from GOV.UK’s bank holiday lists for each nation; weekdays and lengths are calculated.

Two 2027 bank holidays do not create a long weekend on their own because they fall midweek: St Patrick’s Day in Northern Ireland (Wednesday 17 March 2027) and St Andrew’s Day in Scotland (Tuesday 30 November 2027). Both become very efficient with one or two days of leave — see the tables below.

England and Wales: six long weekends

England and Wales share the same eight bank holidays, so their long weekends are identical. Five of the eight fall on a Monday and two on a Friday; only Boxing Day’s substitute is on a Tuesday, and it extends the Christmas weekend to four days. More detail on England bank holidays 2027 and Wales bank holidays 2027.

Scotland: six long weekends

Scotland starts the year with a four-day weekend because 2 January 2027 is a Saturday and its substitute is Monday 4 January 2027. Easter is only three days (Scotland has Good Friday but not Easter Monday), and the summer weekend comes at the start of August rather than the end. Full list: Scotland bank holidays 2027.

Northern Ireland: seven long weekends

Northern Ireland has the most bank and public holidays in 2027 and the most long weekends. The Twelfth of July falls on a Monday, adding a summer three-day weekend that the rest of the UK does not get. See Northern Ireland bank holidays 2027 and Battle of the Boyne 2027.

Book X days, get Y days off: England and Wales

For each bank holiday cluster, these are the smallest bookings that reach a natural break — a run of days off bounded by a weekend or bank holiday. We searched every possible window around each holiday and kept only the options where an extra booking buys at least three extra days off; the in-between options are poor value. “Book” counts working days (Monday to Friday, not bank holidays).

Book X days, get Y days off: Scotland

Scotland’s table differs at Easter (no Easter Monday), in August (first Monday rather than last) and in late November, where one day of leave on Monday 29 November 2027 turns St Andrew’s Day into a four-day weekend. Background on the day: St Andrew’s Day 2027.

Book X days, get Y days off: Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has the most interesting spring of any nation. St Patrick’s Day (Wednesday 17 March 2027) and Good Friday are only nine days apart, so booking 6 days bridges them into 13 days off, from Wednesday 17 March 2027 to Monday 29 March 2027. More on the day at St Patrick’s Day 2027.

The ten best-value breaks of 2027

Only breaks of nine days or more are ranked here, ordered by days off per day of leave, with ties broken by the length of the break. Options that start in December 2026 are left out; everything below falls in 2027 or runs from late 2027 into January 2028.

Christmas wins because two substitute bank holidays and the New Year substitute fall within a single week. Outside Christmas, the four-day bookings around Easter and the May, July and August bank holidays are the sweet spot: four days of leave for nine or ten days off. If you only want a longer weekend, a single day’s leave next to any Monday or Friday bank holiday gives four days off.

A sample year: nearly seven weeks off for 19 days of leave

The plans below use only the options in the tables above. They assume a five-day week and the statutory 5.6 weeks (28 days) of leave. GOV.UK confirms employers can count bank holidays inside those 28 days; if yours does, the last column shows what you have left to book.

In England, Wales and Scotland the sample plan uses 19 days of leave for 47 days off. Northern Ireland’s version combines St Patrick’s Day with Easter and swaps the early-May and August breaks for the Twelfth, using 17 days for 41 days off and fitting inside the 18 days left after its ten holidays.

Christmas 2027 and New Year 2028

25 December 2027 is a Saturday and 26 December a Sunday, so the Christmas bank holidays are the substitute days Monday 27 December 2027 and Tuesday 28 December 2027. New Year’s Day 2028 is also a Saturday, and GOV.UK’s 2028 list moves it to Monday 3 January 2028. Scotland also has 2 January 2028, a Sunday, observed on Tuesday 4 January 2028.

• No leave: four days off at Christmas (Sat 25 December – Tue 28 December 2027) and a three-day New Year weekend (Sat 1 January – Mon 3 January 2028); four in Scotland, to Tuesday 4 January 2028.
• Three days’ leave (29 December, 30 December, 31 December): 10 days in a row in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; 11 in Scotland.
• Seven days’ leave: 16 days, Sat 25 December 2027 – Sun 9 January 2028, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The same trick works this winter: booking 3 days between Christmas 2026 and New Year gives 10 days off from Friday 25 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 11 in Scotland. See Christmas bank holidays 2027 and New Year bank holidays 2027.

Before you book

• Notice rules. Unless your contract says otherwise, GOV.UK’s default is that you give notice at least twice as long as the leave you want, plus one day — so eight days off needs 17 days’ notice. Your employer can refuse or move leave, but must give as much notice as the leave requested, plus one day. It can also require staff to take leave on set days, such as a Christmas shutdown, with notice at least twice the length of the leave.
• Bank holidays are not guaranteed days off. There is no statutory right to a bank holiday off; it depends on your contract. See bank holiday entitlement and working on a bank holiday.
• School holidays. Term dates are set locally rather than nationally — in England and Wales GOV.UK sends parents to their council’s website — so check them before booking family travel. Our schools and bank holidays guide explains what closes.
• Scottish local holidays. Scotland’s councils set their own local holidays on top of the national list, and these can create extra long weekends not shown here; see Scottish local holidays by council.

For the individual holidays, see Easter 2027, May bank holidays 2027 and August bank holiday 2027. The full four-nation list is on UK bank holidays 2027; this year’s equivalent is long weekends 2026, and the next year’s dates are on bank holidays 2028.