Usually October
Fire tradition · England
Hastings Bonfire
Hastings, East Sussex
Hastings Borough Bonfire Society's torchlit Old Town procession and bonfire on the beach.
A Saturday in mid-October (Saturday 17 October in 2026)
BY TYPE
Fire festivals & spectacle.
A barrel isn't simply a barrel on this page. In Ottery St Mary it's carried through the streets; Hatherleigh hauls burning barrels through town; Allendale’s guisers carry theirs on their heads before feeding the central fire. Stonehaven has fireballs instead, while Lerwick’s Up Helly Aa centres on a galley. Flame is the common ingredient, but the movements, stories and people behind each are quite different. Read the individual guide before you pick the spectacle that calls to you.
Some events fill a whole programme rather than serving up one brief dramatic moment. Lewes has separate societies and fire sites, and Bridgwater combines an illuminated carnival procession with squibbing. Brighton’s Burning the Clocks starts with community lantern making before the lanterns reach the beach. Beltane in Edinburgh brings another setting and another kind of performance. A picture of the finale only tells part of the tale; the daytime activities, processions and work behind them may be what you remember most.
Decide whether you're coming to watch, march or take on an organised role, because these are very different things. A free street procession can lead to a separately controlled site, and the people carrying fire may need membership or an invitation. Follow the organiser's current instructions for your particular event, including viewing, access and family suitability. Don't borrow a rule from another town just because both celebrations involve torches or barrels.
The map makes it tempting to string several nights into one trip, but give each one room to unfold. Check the date and how you'll actually get home, particularly for celebrations that run past midnight. Pick a spot you can reach and leave comfortably, and let the stewards decide what space is available. If a particular access arrangement is essential, ask before you travel. You're after a memorable evening in a community that cares about its custom, with enough preparation to enjoy the fire and everything around it.
17 events
Traditional date
Fire tradition · England
Lewes Bonfire Night
Lewes, East Sussex
Bonfire societies parade burning crosses, tar barrels and effigies through the county town.
5 November 2026
Date announced
Fire tradition · England
Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels
Ottery St Mary, Devon
Local barrel rollers carry burning barrels through the town.
5 November 2026
Date announced
Fire tradition · England
Battle Bonfire
Battle, East Sussex
A day-long bonfire celebration ending with a torchlit procession and fire on Abbey Green.
7 November 2026
Date announced
Fire tradition · England
Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival
Bridgwater, Somerset
Giant illuminated carnival carts parade through town, ending with a blaze of hand-held squibs.
7 November 2026
Date announced
Fire tradition · England
Edenbridge Bonfire
Edenbridge, Kent
Torchlit procession and fireworks where an 11-metre effigy of a public figure is burned.
7 November 2026
Date announced
Fire tradition · England
Hatherleigh Carnival tar barrels
Hatherleigh, Devon
Blazing tar barrels are dragged through the streets at 5am and again after the carnival.
14 November 2026
Traditional date
Fire tradition · England
Rye Bonfire
Rye, East Sussex
Torchlit procession through Rye ending at a bonfire on the Salts, topped with a boat.
14 November 2026
Traditional date
Fire tradition · England
Burning the Clocks
Brighton, East Sussex
A winter solstice lantern parade through Brighton that ends with lanterns burned on the beach.
21 December 2026
Traditional date
Fire tradition · England
Allendale Tar Bar’l
Allendale, Northumberland
Costumed guisers carry blazing tar barrels on their heads to light the New Year bonfire.
31 December 2026
Traditional date
Fire tradition · Scotland
Biggar Hogmanay Bonfire
Biggar, South Lanarkshire
A piped torchlit procession leads to a huge bonfire on Biggar High Street at Hogmanay.
31 December 2026
Traditional date
Fire tradition · Scotland
Comrie Flambeaux
Comrie, Perthshire
Flaming birch-pole torches are paraded round Comrie at midnight, then thrown in the River Earn.
31 December 2026 – 1 January 2027
Traditional date
Fire tradition · Scotland
Stonehaven Fireballs
Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire
Fireball swingers parade at midnight to welcome the New Year.
31 December 2026 – 1 January 2027
Date announced
Fire tradition · Scotland
Scalloway Fire Festival
Scalloway, Shetland
A torchlit procession brings a Viking galley to Scalloway’s waterfront for burning.
8 January 2027
Traditional date
Fire tradition · Scotland
Burning of the Clavie
Burghead, Moray
A burning barrel is carried through town as part of a local custom.
11 January 2027
Date announced
Fire tradition · Scotland
Up Helly Aa
Lerwick, Shetland
Torchlit procession culminating in the burning of a galley.
26 January 2027
Traditional date
Fire tradition · Scotland
Beltane Fire Festival
Calton Hill, Edinburgh
Drummers, fire and the May Queen's procession welcome summer on Edinburgh's Calton Hill.
30 April 2027