Jorvik Viking Festival 2026
Coppergate, York YO1 9WT
14 Feb 2026 - 22 Feb 2026
Europe's largest Viking festival — battles, blacksmithing, and a thousand years of Norse history brought to life in the streets of York.
Festivals & Fairs, Kids & Family, Community
Hay Festival 2026
Hay Festival Site, Hay-on-Wye, Powys HR3 5BX
21 May 2026 - 31 May 2026
The Woodstock of the mind — writers, thinkers, and ideas in a tiny Welsh book town. Conversations that change how you see the world.
Community, Other
From £12.00
UK Black Pride 2026
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London E20 2ST
9 Aug 2026
Europe's largest Pride event for LGBTQ+ people of colour — a powerful, joyful celebration of intersectional identity. Free and all welcome.
LGBTQ, Community
Free
Heritage Open Days 2026
Various locations across England
11 Sep 2026 - 20 Sep 2026
England's largest free heritage festival — thousands of normally locked buildings and hidden places open their doors for ten days each September.
Community
Free
Open House London 2026
Various buildings across London
19 Sep 2026 - 20 Sep 2026
Hundreds of normally locked London buildings throw open their doors — for free. The most architecturally thrilling weekend of the year.
Community, Other
Free
Cheltenham Literature Festival 2026
Cheltenham Town Hall, Imperial Square, Cheltenham GL50 1QA
2 Oct 2026 - 11 Oct 2026
The world's oldest literary festival — ten days of authors, ideas, and debate in a gorgeous Regency town. The ultimate book lover's pilgrimage.
Other, Community
From £12.00
Tar Barrel Rolling — Ottery St Mary 2026
Ottery St Mary, Devon EX11 1AA
5 Nov 2026
Men carry flaming tar barrels through packed streets on their backs — the most thrilling, terrifying Bonfire Night tradition in England.
Quirky & Unusual, Community
Free
Remembrance Sunday 2026
The Cenotaph, Whitehall, London SW1A 2ET
8 Nov 2026
The nation falls silent — wreaths at the Cenotaph, poppies on every lapel, and a two-minute stillness that honours the fallen.
Community
Free
Burning the Clocks Brighton 2026
Brighton Seafront, Brighton BN1 1NB
21 Dec 2026
Thousands of handmade lanterns parading through Brighton to a beach bonfire — the most magical winter solstice celebration in Britain. Free.
Quirky & Unusual, Community
Free
London NYE Fireworks 2026
South Bank, London SE1 7PB
31 Dec 2026 - 1 Jan 2027
One of the world's great fireworks displays — the London Eye, Big Ben, and the Thames lit up at midnight. A spectacular way to ring in the new year.
Community
From £15.00