Essential Travel Guide – Articles

UK Bank Holidays are usually a time for much travel and holiday activity with people keen to take advantage of the bank and public holidays to take a break from work and enjoy some leisure time. The bank holiday dates in the UK have added significance given the UK has among the fewest bank holidays in the European Union, therefore each bank holiday is eagerly awaited with many people keen to make the most of the precious time off.



ADVERTISEMENT

In recent years a favourite activity is to jet off on short city breaks to destinations in Europe, with the increase in budget airlines and a whole host of new destinations only a few hours flying time away, there is no shortage of places to go. The bank holidays are also used to enjoy breaks in the UK, this can help cut journey times when time is at a premium and help reduce travellers’ carbon footprint. The expected UK Bank Holidays for 2008 & 2009 are shown below:

England & Wales Bank Holidays 2008 & 2009

England & Wales	2008	2009
New Year’s Day	1 January	1 January
Good Friday	21 March	10 April
Easter Monday	24 March	13 April
May Bank Holiday	5 May	4 May
Spring Bank Holiday	26 May	25 May
Summer Bank Holiday	25 August	31 August
Christmas Day	25 December	25 December
Boxing Day	26 December	28 December

Scotland Bank Holidays 2008 & 2009

Scotland	2008	2009
New Year’s Day	1 January	1 January
New Year	2 January	2 January
Good Friday	21 March	10 April
May Bank Holiday	5 May	4 May
Spring Bank Holiday	26 May	25 May
Summer Bank Holiday	4 August	3 August
St Andrew’s Day	1 December	30 November
Christmas Day	25 December	25 December
Boxing Day	26 December	28 December

Northern Ireland Bank Holidays 2008 & 2009

Northern Ireland	2008	2009
New Year’s Day	1 January	1 January
St Patrick’s Day	17 March	17 March
Good Friday	21 March	10 April
Easter Monday	24 March	13 April
May Bank Holiday	5 May	4 May
Spring Bank Holiday	26 May	25 May
Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day)	14 July	13 July
Summer Bank Holiday	25 August	31 August
Christmas Day	25 December	25 December
Boxing Day	26 December	28 December

England & Wales currently have the same bank holidays and for both Scotland and Northern Ireland who have some different days and dates although the majority of the bank and public holidays are similar to that of England & Wales. Some tourist attractions, shops, restaurants and other travel and holiday services may also have different or shortened opening hours or could be closed, thus it is advisable to check before you set off on your journey.

The bank holiday dates are an extremely busy time for the transport network throughout the UK and travellers are well advised to check their travel plans and itinerates to help avoid getting caught up in possible delays. The transport system may have engineering works or reduced services during bank and public holidays. For more information please see:

UK Traffic Information

There are calls from some organisations such as the trade unions to increase the number of bank holidays in the UK to bring the UK in line with the European Union average. England & Wales currently have 8 bank holidays the fewest in the UK, followed by Scotland with 9 and Northern Ireland with 10. The European Union average is approx 11 to 12 therefore none of the countries in the UK currently meets the EU average. Those supporting the increase point to the increased productivity of workers that take regular breaks and note that workers in the UK are already working on average longer hours than is the case for the rest of the EU. Those against advocating extra bank holidays point to lost business and productivity of days lost to bank holidays among other concerns.

UK Bank Holidays

Useful Links:

Essential Travel Guide Home Page
City Travel Guides
Travel Articles

Cheap Flights
Car Rental
Holiday Quotes
Hotel Booking
Last Minute Travel Deals
UK Restaurants

Business Travel
Travel Insurance
Travel Tools

Flight Tracker
Travel Blogs
Travel Podcasts
Travel Videos
Advertise on EssentialTravelGuide.com
Contact Us
SiteMap