Spring Bank Holiday

The Spring Bank Holiday falls on the last Monday of May and traces its origins to Whit Monday, a religious observance seven weeks after Easter tied to Pentecost, which had been a traditional English holiday for centuries before its formal recognition under the Bank Holidays Act 1871. Because Whit Monday's date moved with Easter, it was replaced from 1971 onward by a fixed late-May bank holiday, decoupling the break from its original religious timing while preserving its place in the calendar. The change came as part of a broader modernization of the UK's bank holiday system, which also introduced the August Bank Holiday's current late-month position. For many Britons, the Spring Bank Holiday now functions as the unofficial start of summer, often coinciding with half-term school breaks and a wave of outdoor events, garden shows, and village fetes across the country, including the famous Chelsea Flower Show, which typically runs in the preceding week. The long weekend is also popular for short domestic breaks and the beginning of the UK festival season, with several major music festivals timed around the holiday. Traffic on major routes and at airports tends to peak as families take advantage of the extended break.