Thu 1 Jan – Sun 4 Jan
4 days per day of leave4 days off in a row – days of leave: 1
Take leave: Fri 2 Jan
Public holidays: New Year’s Day
Bridge days
Choose a year, a country and how many days of leave you would take, and see where the longest breaks are.
Most days of leave
Long breaks in 2026 in England and Wales
Fri 25 Dec – Sun 3 Jan
3.3 days per day of leave10 days off in a row – days of leave: 3
Take leave: Tue 29 Dec, Wed 30 Dec, Thu 31 Dec
Public holidays: Christmas Day, Boxing Day (substitute day), New Year’s Day
Sat 28 Mar – Mon 6 Apr
2.5 days per day of leave10 days off in a row – days of leave: 4
Take leave: Mon 30 Mar, Tue 31 Mar, Wed 1 Apr, Thu 2 Apr
Public holidays: Good Friday, Easter Monday
Fri 3 Apr – Sun 12 Apr
2.5 days per day of leave10 days off in a row – days of leave: 4
Take leave: Tue 7 Apr, Wed 8 Apr, Thu 9 Apr, Fri 10 Apr
Public holidays: Good Friday, Easter Monday
Sat 19 Dec – Mon 28 Dec
2.5 days per day of leave10 days off in a row – days of leave: 4
Take leave: Mon 21 Dec, Tue 22 Dec, Wed 23 Dec, Thu 24 Dec
Public holidays: Christmas Day, Boxing Day (substitute day)
Sat 2 May – Sun 10 May
2.3 days per day of leave9 days off in a row – days of leave: 4
Take leave: Tue 5 May, Wed 6 May, Thu 7 May, Fri 8 May
Public holidays: Early May bank holiday
Sat 23 May – Sun 31 May
2.3 days per day of leave9 days off in a row – days of leave: 4
Take leave: Tue 26 May, Wed 27 May, Thu 28 May, Fri 29 May
Public holidays: Spring bank holiday
Sat 29 Aug – Sun 6 Sept
2.3 days per day of leave9 days off in a row – days of leave: 4
Take leave: Tue 1 Sept, Wed 2 Sept, Thu 3 Sept, Fri 4 Sept
Public holidays: Summer bank holiday
LeavePublic holidayWeekend
Only statutory public holidays count. Days off through agreements, such as Christmas Eve, make the breaks longer.
How it works
A bridge day is a working day squeezed between a public holiday and a weekend. Take it as leave and a single day becomes four days off in a row. The tool finds every such chance in the year, including the ones where two, three or four days of leave join up a longer break.
Suggestions are sorted by how many days off each day of leave buys. Four days off for one day of leave beats nine for four, even if the longer break may suit you better, so both are shown.
Every break starts and ends on a day you are off anyway, and the leave always falls between two days off. Only statutory public holidays count, not days that many people get off through their contract, such as Christmas Eve. Sweden is the exception: Midsummer Eve, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are counted as free there, because the Annual Leave Act puts them on a par with a Sunday. If you have those days off, the breaks around them get even longer.
The holidays are the same as in the working days calculator and on the public holiday pages. Days an employer gives off on top are not counted, since they differ between workplaces.
The best breaks of 2026 in the United Kingdom
The breaks that give the most days off per day of leave, using at most four days of annual leave. Breaks that have already passed are left out. The table uses the bank holidays for England and Wales and the same rules as the tool above.
| Off | Book leave | Days in a row | Per day of leave | Bank holidays |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 25 Dec – Sun 3 Jan | Tue 29 Dec, Wed 30 Dec, Thu 31 Dec | 10 | 3.3 | Christmas Day, Boxing Day (substitute day), New Year’s Day |
| Sat 19 Dec – Mon 28 Dec | Mon 21 Dec, Tue 22 Dec, Wed 23 Dec, Thu 24 Dec | 10 | 2.5 | Christmas Day, Boxing Day (substitute day) |
The best breaks of 2027 in the United Kingdom
The breaks that give the most days off per day of leave, using at most four days of annual leave. Breaks that have already passed are left out. The table uses the bank holidays for England and Wales and the same rules as the tool above.
| Off | Book leave | Days in a row | Per day of leave | Bank holidays |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 25 Dec – Mon 3 Jan | Wed 29 Dec, Thu 30 Dec, Fri 31 Dec | 10 | 3.3 | Christmas Day (substitute day), Boxing Day (substitute day), New Year’s Day (substitute day) |
| Sat 20 Mar – Mon 29 Mar | Mon 22 Mar, Tue 23 Mar, Wed 24 Mar, Thu 25 Mar | 10 | 2.5 | Good Friday, Easter Monday |
| Fri 26 Mar – Sun 4 Apr | Tue 30 Mar, Wed 31 Mar, Thu 1 Apr, Fri 2 Apr | 10 | 2.5 | Good Friday, Easter Monday |
| Sat 1 May – Sun 9 May | Tue 4 May, Wed 5 May, Thu 6 May, Fri 7 May | 9 | 2.3 | Early May bank holiday |
| Sat 29 May – Sun 6 Jun | Tue 1 Jun, Wed 2 Jun, Thu 3 Jun, Fri 4 Jun | 9 | 2.3 | Spring bank holiday |
| Sat 28 Aug – Sun 5 Sept | Tue 31 Aug, Wed 1 Sept, Thu 2 Sept, Fri 3 Sept | 9 | 2.3 | Summer bank holiday |
Why the United Kingdom has few bridge days
Four of the eight bank holidays in England and Wales always fall on a Monday, Good Friday always on a Friday, and a substitute day often adds another Monday. They already make long weekends, so there is rarely a single working day to bridge, which is what gives four days off for one day of leave elsewhere in Europe.
The gains are at Easter and Christmas instead. Easter gives a Friday and the following Monday, so four days of leave buy ten days off. Around Christmas the substitute days often line up so that three days of leave cover the whole of the Christmas and New Year period.
Substitute days
When New Year’s Day, Christmas Day or Boxing Day falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, a substitute bank holiday is given on the following weekday. The tool works the dates out from those rules, and they match the list published by the government.
One-off bank holidays are proclaimed for events such as a coronation or a jubilee. They are announced well in advance and are added to the tool when they are.
Booking the leave
Under the Working Time Regulations an employer can refuse a request for leave, and can also require you to take leave on particular days by giving notice of twice the length of the leave. Popular bridge days go early, so ask in good time.
If bank holidays are included in your 28 days of statutory leave, a bridge day costs you an ordinary day of that allowance. If they come on top of it, the same break costs the same but leaves more of your own days for the summer.