{"id":4220,"date":"2025-05-07T23:13:31","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T11:13:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/?p=4220"},"modified":"2025-05-07T23:13:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T11:13:31","slug":"your-complete-guide-to-2018-2019-bank-holidays-dates-counts-and-planning-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/your-complete-guide-to-2018-2019-bank-holidays-dates-counts-and-planning-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Complete Guide to 2018-2019 Bank Holidays: Dates, Counts, and Planning Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"<\/p>\n

Hey there, holiday lovers! It\u2019s your go-to public holiday guru, Holiday Little Assistant, back with another juicy breakdown. Today, we\u2019re tackling a question I get *all* the time: “How many bank holidays were there between 2018 and 2019?”<\/b> Whether you\u2019re planning retro trips or just love fun facts, I\u2019ve got the scoop\u2014plus bonus tips to maximize those precious days off. Let\u2019s dive in! <\/p>\n

UK Bank Holidays 2018 vs. 2019: The Total Count <\/h2>\n

Drumroll, please\u2026 Across England and Wales, 2018 had 8 bank holidays<\/b>, while 2019 packed in 9<\/b> thanks to a lucky calendar quirk (more on that later!). Scotland and Northern Ireland get extra love with slightly different counts\u2014we\u2019ll cover those too. Here\u2019s the full breakdown: <\/p>\n

2018 Bank Holidays (England & Wales):<\/b>
\n\u2022 New Year\u2019s Day (Jan 1)
\n\u2022 Good Friday (March 30)
\n\u2022 Easter Monday (April 2)
\n\u2022 Early May Bank Holiday (May 7)
\n\u2022 Spring Bank Holiday (May 28)
\n\u2022 Summer Bank Holiday (August 27)
\n\u2022 Christmas Day (Dec 25)
\n\u2022 Boxing Day (Dec 26)
\nPro tip: Since Christmas fell on a Tuesday, no “substitute day” was needed. <\/p>\n

2019 Bank Holidays (England & Wales):<\/b>
\n\u2022 New Year\u2019s Day (Jan 1)
\n\u2022 Good Friday (April 19)
\n\u2022 Easter Monday (April 22)
\n\u2022 Early May Bank Holiday (May 6)
\n\u2022 Spring Bank Holiday (May 27)
\n\u2022 Summer Bank Holiday (August 26)
\n\u2022 Christmas Day (Dec 25\u2014Wednesday, so no substitution)
\n\u2022 Boxing Day (Dec 26)
\n\u2022 PLUS a sneaky extra: New Year\u2019s Day 2020<\/b> was observed on Jan 1, 2020, but some workplaces rolled it into 2019\u2019s leave year. Crafty! <\/p>\n

Why Did 2019 Get More Bank Holidays? <\/h2>\n

Great question! While England\/Wales usually get 8 fixed holidays, 2019 felt generous because:
\n1. No holidays fell on weekends<\/b> (meaning no “lost” days needing substitutes).
\n2. Some companies counted early 2020\u2019s New Year\u2019s Day as part of 2019\u2019s allowance\u2014hello, loophole!
\nScotland scored even bigger with 9 standard days<\/b> (adding St Andrew\u2019s Day), while Northern Ireland hit 10<\/b> with the Battle of the Boyne anniversary. <\/p>\n

Pro Tips for Maximizing Bank Holidays <\/h2>\n

Want to stretch those days like a vacation wizard? Here\u2019s how Brits did it in 2018-2019:
\n\u2022 Easter 2019:<\/b> Booked April 23-26 off? Congrats, you got an 11-day break using just 4 leave days!
\n\u2022 May 2019:<\/b> Taking May 28-31 off gifted a 10-day escape (Spring Bank Holiday + 4 days\u2019 leave).
\n\u2022 Always check substitute days<\/b>\u2014if Christmas lands on a weekend, you\u2019ll get a weekday back! <\/p>\n

Phew! There you have it\u2014a full map of 2018-2019\u2019s bank holidays plus insider hacks. Whether you\u2019re reminiscing or planning future time off, knowing these patterns helps you work smarter, not harder. Remember: bank holidays = free vacation fuel! <\/p>\n

FAQpro tip: Got more questions about past or upcoming holidays? Hit me up! I live for this stuff. Thanks for reading, and may your calendar always be packed with long weekends. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hey there, holiday lovers! It\u2019s your go-to public holiday guru, Holiday Little Assistant, back with another juicy breakdown. Today, we\u2019re tackling a question I get *all* the time: “How many bank holidays were there between 2018 and 2019?” Whether you\u2019re planning retro trips or just love fun facts, I\u2019ve got the scoop\u2014plus bonus tips to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4219,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"slim_seo":{"title":"Your Complete Guide to 2018-2019 Bank Holidays: Dates, Counts, and Planning Tips - Public Holiday Calendar","description":"Hey there, holiday lovers! It\u2019s your go-to public holiday guru, Holiday Little Assistant, back with another juicy breakdown. Today, we\u2019re tackling a question I"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[278],"tags":[3074,3075,2116,993,3076],"class_list":["post-4220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-2018-bank-holidays","tag-2019-bank-holidays","tag-how-many-bank-holidays-in-a-year","tag-uk-holiday-calendar","tag-uk-public-holidays-2018-2019"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4220"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4221,"href":"http:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4220\/revisions\/4221"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.publicholidaycalendar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}