May Bank Holiday 2026: What’s On, Family Days Out & Things To Do (UK)

By Linda Garrould · Updated June 2026

May is one of the best months on the British calendar for family days out. Two bank holidays, lighter evenings, gardens bursting into colour and a proper chance of sunshine all land in the same four weeks. Whether you want to plan a single quiet day at a country park or line up back-to-back adventures, here is your complete guide to both May bank holiday weekends in 2026.

When are the May bank holidays in 2026?

There are two public holidays in May 2026 across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland:

• Early May bank holiday: Monday 4 May 2026 — a three-day weekend running Saturday 2 to Monday 4 May.
• Spring bank holiday: Monday 25 May 2026 — a three-day weekend running Saturday 23 to Monday 25 May, which also kicks off May half term for most English and Welsh schools.

The gap between the two is just three weeks, so a little light planning goes a long way. Popular attractions often release bank holiday tickets four to six weeks ahead, and the best-value family accommodation usually goes first.

At a glance: which weekend should you pick?

Weekend	Best for	Watch out for
2–4 May	Spring gardens, bluebell woods, classic car shows, food festivals	Variable weather, still chilly evenings
23–25 May	Beach days, theme parks, half-term openings, outdoor cinema	Peak crowds, higher prices, book ahead

Outdoor classics that always deliver

If the forecast is kind, the outdoor bank holiday experience is hard to beat. A few ideas that suit every age group:

• National Trust and English Heritage properties — great gardens, playtrails, café stops and well-spaced grounds. A family membership usually pays for itself inside two visits.
• RHS gardens — Wisley, Harlow Carr, Hyde Hall and Rosemoor all put on spring-into-summer displays, and most run children’s trails through the holidays.
• Beaches — the Spring bank holiday is often the first proper beach weekend of the year. Blue Flag beaches in Norfolk, Pembrokeshire, Dorset and Fife tend to be quieter early in the day.
• Farm parks and rare breeds centres — lambing season carries on into early May, and most farms run bank holiday shows and tractor rides.
• Steam railways — the Severn Valley, Bluebell, North Yorkshire Moors, Churnet Valley and Ffestiniog all ramp up to full timetables for the bank holidays.

Indoor back-ups for the rainy one

May weather is famously unpredictable. A short list of indoor days out that do not feel like a compromise:

• Free national museums — the Natural History Museum, Science Museum, National Railway Museum, National Museum Cardiff and Kelvingrove in Glasgow are all free and busy-but-brilliant on a wet bank holiday.
• Aquariums and sea life centres — book the first slot of the day to dodge queues.
• Soft play and trampoline parks — book online the night before for the best prices and to secure a slot.
• Cinema family tickets — most chains run early morning family screenings for a couple of pounds per person through the bank holidays.

Free and low-cost family days out

Bank holidays do not have to be expensive. Some of the most memorable family days cost nothing at all:

• A forest walk with a picnic and a simple scavenger hunt printed from your phone.
• A local park with a bat-and-ball, a frisbee and a flask of something warm.
• A coastal walk followed by fish and chips on a bench.
• A classic car show or county agricultural show — many have free entry for under-16s.
• A free museum followed by a window-shopping wander through a nearby shopping district (our Regional Shopping Guides cover opening hours and routes for 61 UK cities, towns and outlets).
• A morning in the garden with the kids. May half-term is the single best week of the year to start a child gardening — see our kids’ gardening ideas for May half-term for 8 quick-win plants and a day-by-day plan.

Regional picks for each weekend

South East and London

Kew Gardens for the early May weekend, then Kent and Sussex coast or the South Downs for Spring bank holiday. London itself empties out a little at bank holidays, which makes it a surprisingly good weekend for the big free museums.

South West

The Eden Project, the Jurassic Coast, Dartmoor and Exmoor all shine in late May. Book accommodation early — the Spring bank holiday is one of the busiest weekends of the whole year in Devon and Cornwall. Our Cornwall family guide covers thirty-two destinations with National Trust, English Heritage and seven harbour towns mapped out.

East of England

The Suffolk Show on 27–28 May is the headline event — under-15s go free (full guide above). Beyond that, the North Norfolk Coast works beautifully for either bank holiday weekend, with pine-backed beaches at Holkham and Wells, the National Trust at Felbrigg and Blickling, and the working harbour at Cromer. The Suffolk Coast is the quieter, more cultured cousin: Aldeburgh, Southwold, Orford and the Heritage Coast AONB. Both run roughly two-and-a-half hours from London by car or train.

Midlands

Warwick Castle, Cadbury World, the Black Country Living Museum and the National Memorial Arboretum are all safe bets. The Peak District and the Shropshire Hills are ideal for a bank holiday walk.

North of England

The Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors are hard to beat in May. For a city option, York, Chester and Durham are all compact enough for a one-day visit with children.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Snowdonia, Pembrokeshire and the Gower are at their best. In Scotland, Loch Lomond, the Trossachs and the East Neuk of Fife are all within easy reach of Glasgow and Edinburgh. In Northern Ireland, the Giant’s Causeway and the Mourne Mountains are classics.

Is National Trust membership worth it for a family holiday?

We get asked this a lot, so here’s the honest maths for a family of four on a week’s holiday, using current (April 2026) gate prices.

Picture 2 adults and 2 under-16s doing a Norfolk break and stopping at Stonehenge on the drive home. Gate prices work out as: Felbrigg Hall £45 family ticket + £5 parking = £50; Blickling Hall £45 + £5 = £50; Oxburgh Hall £35 family, parking free = £35; Stonehenge £88.80 for the family, parking included = £88.80. That’s £223.80 for four visits paid at the gate.

An annual National Trust family membership — 2 adults and all children under 18 — is £176.40 by annual Direct Debit, and it covers every one of those visits (yes, including Stonehenge — the stones themselves are managed by English Heritage, but NT England members book a free ‘affiliate member’ ticket on the EH site and walk in free that way, thanks to the long-standing NT/EH reciprocal arrangement). Sign up online by Direct Debit and you also get a free Guest Pass to share with a friend or grandparent.

On this one holiday alone you’re about £47 better off as a member — and every NT property you visit for the rest of the year is pure savings, with free parking at over 300 of them.

One more budget point worth knowing. National Trust family membership can be paid by monthly Direct Debit rather than in one lump sum — £14.70 a month for a two-adult family, or £9.10 a month for a one-adult family — spread across twelve instalments. That can be a lot easier to plan around than a clutch of peak-season family tickets arriving all at once during the school holidays.

Join the National Trust →

Five planning tips that actually matter

1. Book timed tickets online. Most big attractions now sell cheaper advance tickets and turn walk-ups away on busy days.
2. Arrive early or late. The first and last two hours of the day are almost always quieter.
3. Pack a proper picnic. On-site cafés get overwhelmed on bank holidays, and a picnic buys you an hour of extra daylight.
4. Have a plan B ready. Know your nearest indoor backup before you set off, especially for the early May weekend.
5. Leave 20 minutes in the tank on the way home. Everyone leaves at once on a bank holiday Monday. A short detour for tea and a playground often beats sitting on the motorway.

Frequently asked questions

Are shops open on bank holidays?

Yes, though hours are often shorter. Larger supermarkets in England and Wales are restricted to six hours on Sundays but trade normal hours on the Monday itself. Many town-centre shops also run late-night shopping on the Friday before each bank holiday weekend.

Do schools get time off around the early May bank holiday?

Most state schools in England and Wales close for the Monday only. A handful of schools add an inset day on the Friday. Scottish school holidays vary by local authority, so check the local calendar before booking.

When does May half term start in 2026?

For most English and Welsh schools, May half term runs from Monday 25 May to Friday 29 May 2026, with the Spring bank holiday making it a full week off work and school for many families. We have a dedicated May half term family guide with daily ideas.

What is the weather usually like in May?

Met Office averages put May highs in the low to mid-teens across most of the UK, with longer dry spells than April. The Spring bank holiday weekend is statistically a little warmer and drier than the early May one, but either can deliver glorious sunshine or persistent drizzle.

Is 4 May 2026 a bank holiday in the UK?

Yes. Monday 4 May 2026 is the early May bank holiday across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland — a full public holiday with banks, government offices and most state schools closed for the day.

What’s open on the May bank holiday?

Most attractions, supermarkets, restaurants and high-street shops trade normal hours on bank holiday Mondays, though many close early — typically around 6pm. Smaller museums, libraries and council services often close completely. Always check the operator’s own site before travelling for anywhere ticketed.

What is there to do with kids on the May bank holiday?

National Trust and English Heritage properties run extra family activities on bank holiday weekends, and farm parks, steam railways and seaside towns are at their best in May. Free options include forest walks, coastal walks, picnics in the local park, and the free national museums in London, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester and Cardiff.

Are any UK shops open late on the May bank holiday weekend?

Many town centres run a late-night shopping evening on the Friday or Thursday before each bank holiday — useful if you’ve left present-buying or kit-buying to the last minute. Our regional shopping guides cover late-night opening hours for 61 UK cities, towns and outlets.

More ideas from the blog

• Gardening jobs for May 2026
• The best half-term getaways in Britain
• Kids’ gardening ideas for May half-term — 8 quick-win plants and a week-by-week plan

Related seasonal guides

• August bank holiday 2026: family days out across the UK — the summer bookend.
• How many days until Easter 2027 — the next four-day family weekend after May, with the dates and a 10-day annual-leave hack.
• Suffolk Show 2026: under-15s go free at Ipswich’s big May day out
• May Half Term 2026: our day-by-day family guide
• Gardening jobs for May — month-by-month UK guide

Whichever weekend you choose, the early May and Spring bank holidays are two of the best chances of the whole year to slow down, get outside as a family and make a proper day of it. Have a brilliant one.