How Many UK Bank Holidays Are There This Year?

This year the UK has eight bank holidays and in 2022, we're being treated to an extra bank holiday in June for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

So far this year, we've had the New Year's Day, Good Friday and Easter Monday bank holidays.

Here's a full list of bank holiday dates for England and Wales in 2021.

• New Year's Day, Friday 1st January 2021
• Good Friday, Friday 2nd April 2021
• Easter Monday, Monday 5th May 2021
• Early May bank holiday, Monday 3rd May 2021
• Whitsun, Monday 31st May 2021
• Summer bank holiday, Monday 30th August 2021
• Christmas, Monday 27th December 2021
• Boxing Day, Tuesday 28th December 2021

• People Are Calling On The Government To Make 21 June A Bank Holiday

Whitsun, 31st May 2021

Whitsun is the next bank holiday in the UK and it typically falls eight weeks after Easter Sunday.

Unsplash/Vincent Keiman

It's around this bank holiday that schools in England and Wales break up for their last half-term of the school year before the six-week summer holiday.

UK lockdown rule changes on 17th May

By Whitsun bank holiday, Coronavirus restrictions will have eased even more, meaning we can eat inside a restaurant and more indoor leisure facilities will be open - with social distancing measures in place.

The rule of six or two households will apply to meeting indoors and most of the rules for meeting people outdoors will be lifted. Gatherings of more than 30 people will still be illegal though.

Will we be able to travel abroad this year?

By 31st May, travel abroad is expected to be possible and we should know which countries are on the green list by mid-May.

International travel in the UK 2021

Summer Bank Holiday, 30th August 2021

This is the last bank holiday before kids return to school in September.

If we stay on track with the government's roadmap out of lockdown, all Coronavirus restrictions should be fully lifted by 21st June, making this the first bank holiday the UK will have completely free of restrictions since the start of the pandemic.

Christmas Day, 27th December 2021

This is a substitute day as Christmas Day falls on a Saturday this year. That means the Christmas bank holiday will fall on Monday, 27th December.

Unsplash/Rodion Kutsaev

Boxing Day, 28th December 2021

Another substitute day has been given for Boxing Day, which falls on a Sunday this year. There will be a bank holiday on Tuesday, 28th December for this.

Topics: bank holiday

Laura Sanders

Laura is a journalist working across all of LADbible's brands.

@laurathejourno