Looking for some last minute August Bank Holiday festivals, here is our list of things to do over the long weekend in the UK from 27 to 29 August.
August Bank Holiday Festivals of Culture
Notting Hill Carnival
For many the highlight of the summer months in the UK capital, the Notting Hill Carnival was started by social worker Rhaune Laslett in 1966. Since then it has grown to become the largest free street party in Europe. The carnival spreads over the three days of the Bank Holiday weekend with the parade occurring on the Monday. Expect plenty of music, great food and colourful costumes from the capital’s Caribbean community with mas, steel and Brazilian bands to the fore.
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
The oldest fringe festival in the world is held in the Scottish capital each August. This year commencing on 5 August, the Edinburgh Fringe sees comedians, performers, actors, writers, musicians and dancers take over auld reekie until the Bank Holiday Monday (29 August). Organisers expect there to be 670 shows through the course of the Edinburgh Fringe, many of which are free.
Freedom Festival Hull
Celebrating the life of William Wilberforce, the man behind the abolition of slavery in the UK, the Freedom Festival brings dance, music and performances to the streets of Hull, the city of Wilberforce’s birth. Starting on 26 August, it runs through to 4 September, so you can always pop here after visiting another of the August Bank Holiday Festivals in the UK. Many of the performances will be free. Performing over the Bank Holiday weekend are Gravity & Other Myths at the Hull New Theatre, as well as Portal: A Journey Through Colour in Humber Street, and Sirens in the Museum Gardens and at the Tidal Barrier.
Food Festivals
Malton Food Festival
Yorkshire’s Foodie Glastonbury, takes over the small market town of Malton for the Bank Holiday Weekend. Organisers anticipate tens of thousands of gourmets and gourmands to attend three-day Malton Food Festival 2022 (or Malton Food Lovers Festival) from 27-29 August. Expect food tastings and demos as well as the best local fare and music.
Bury St Edmunds F&B
The foodie capital of Suffolk celebrates all that is good about the county in a two-day festival held over the Bank Holiday Sunday and Monday. Our Bury St Edmunds Food & Drink Festival will see cookery demonstrations some 100 stalls with local produce, a farmers market, and plenty of entertainment for the kids.
August Bank Holiday Events
Southampton Pride
Forget Brighton and London, Southampton is the place to head for Pride over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Saturday, 27 August will see 17,000 revellers head for the South Coast, for the Pride Parade through the centre of Southampton. There will also be music, talks and entertainment, as Southampton Pride celebrates its LGBTQ+ community in this one-day free event.
Bog Snorkelling
… and now for something completely different … The World Bog Snorkelling Championship comes to Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales over the Bank Holiday weekend. Competitors walk through a 55-metre trench drenched with water, through a peat bog in snorkels and flippers. Then return the same way, without swimming. The Ministry of Silly Walks can not compete. The world record is 1 minute 18.82 seconds, just in case you wish to put in some last minute training.
If you’re in London have a look at our sister website London Begins at 40’s A-Z directory of things to do in London for more August Bank Holiday ideas.
All images courtesy of organisers.