Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Life

    8 Things To Do This Bank Holiday Weekend

    We have three glorious days off, so how are we going to make the most of them?

    By Suzannah Ramsdale
    Published 1 May 2013 In Features

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Bank Holiday Weekend
    Bank Holiday Weekend
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    We have three glorious days off, so how are we going to make the most of them?

    The sun looks set to shine for this May Bank Holiday, so here are our top suggestions on how best to spend the well-deserved break.

    1) The Canalway Cavalcade

    There can be no better way to while away the hours on a sunny day than taking in the charms of the Canalway Cavalcade. Over 130 boats will be moored in the Grand Union Canal near Little Venice, London, for three days, with live music, food stalls, boat trips and morris dancers all on hand to entertain the masses. Fun for all the family.

    Canalway Cavalcade 2013

    You may like
    • Notting Hill Carnival The Agenda: How to Spend Your Finite Free Time Well This Summer
    • staycation trends 2026 A Staycation Summer: Your Insider Guide to the UK’s Most Wholesome Locations
    • Best rooftop bars: The Standard The Best London Rooftop Bars To Visit This Summer

    2) Lowry Outlet Food Festival

    Taking place over three days in Salford, the Lowry Outlet Food Festival will have hundreds of mouth-watering stalls offering tasty local cheeses, rich handmade chocolates, hearty traditional pies and farm fresh sausages. The foodie festival will also feature masterclasses with celebrity chefs like Gino D’Acampo, James Martin and Paul Hollywood. And the best part? It's free!

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    Lowry Outlet Food Festival

    3) SPIN London

    You can bet this urban bicycle festival will be where all the cool kids are hanging out this Bank Holiday. Taking place in the street-trendy Old Truman Brewery in East London, you'll get to see bikes being built and raced. There will also be talks, displays and films, all set to the backdrop of live music from some of the finest emerging DJ talent to come from London.

    What to read next
    • anti package holidays The Era of the Anti-Package Holiday Has Arrived—Here’s Where to Go Now
    • Best rooftop bars: The Standard The Best London Rooftop Bars To Visit This Summer
    • White Stuff printed dress From Statement Prints to Breezy Dresses, Effortless Summer Style Starts with White Stuff

    SPIN LONDON

    4) The Look of Love

    Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots and Tamsin Egerton star in this biopic about the 'King of Soho', Paul Raymond. There's plenty of sex, drugs and scandal in this true story of the adult magazine publisher and pornographer, who was Britain's richest man for a while. The best part is a stand-out performance by the beautiful Imogen Poots as Raymond's daughter, Debbie. Mark her down as one to watch.

    5) Cocktails in the City

    If you're looking to start the weekend early and you're based up North, head to Manchester's Town Hall, where the city's most popular haunts (think Mojo, Apotheca, Neighbourhood, Cloud 23 and The Second Floor Harvey Nichols) have set up pop-up bars. There'll be the drinking of cocktails and lessons on how to make said cocktails. Food will be supplied by Almost Famous and music from Crazy P and Neil Diablos of El Diablos Social Club fame.

    Cocktails in the City

    6) Tatty Devine sample sale

    Head to Brick Lane to get your stylish paws on one-off samples and classic out-of-production pieces all at up to 70% off. Prices start at £5 and new items will be added each day of the sale.

    Tatty Devine sample sale

    7) English National Surfing Championships

    With the promise of glorious sunshine, join the thousands of people who will be heading down to Newquay to watch the English National Surfing Championships this weekend. The competition is taking place in the picturesque Watergate Bay, so take your SPF 30, fling on some boardshorts and get involved.

    English National Surfing Championships

    8) Edible Cinema

    The Electric cinema in Notting Hill will be showing two screenings of the cult ‘mockumentary’ This is Spinal Tap this Bank Holiday. If you've not heard of Edible Cinema before, the idea is that by using certain foods and drinks, a multi-sensory experience is created. Each thing you put in your mouth is designed to enhance what's showing on the big screen. Basically, you get to eat as you watch. We're big fans.

    Edible Cinema

    Bank Holiday Weekend

    Bank Holiday Weekend

    Got any other Bank Holiday suggestions? Let us know below.

    Suzannah Ramsdale
    Social Links Navigation
    Read more
    Notting Hill Carnival
    Culture The Agenda: How to Spend Your Finite Free Time Well This Summer
    staycation trends 2026
    Travel A Staycation Summer: Your Insider Guide to the UK’s Most Wholesome Locations
     
     
    Best rooftop bars: The Standard
    Food and Drink The Best London Rooftop Bars To Visit This Summer
    anti package holidays
    Travel The Era of the Anti-Package Holiday Has Arrived—Here’s Where to Go Now
     
     
    Latest in Life
    Mischa Anouk Smith on an astrology travel trip to Türkiye, where she got engaged less than 24 hours after a birth chart reading.
    Travel I Let Astrology Plan My Holiday—Less Than 24 Hours Later, I Was Engaged
    Wicker husband: Alexander Skarsgård and Olivia Coleman in the new film Wicker
    Relationships Move Over Regular Men and AI Boyfriends, The “Wicker Husband” Has Arrived
     
     
    Relic - Dramatic profile portrait with sculptural lighting and shadows - TVS
    Life I Went to A&E After Trying to Take My Own Life—Here’s Why Andy Burnham's New Mental Health Centres Are a Good Start But Not a Complete Solution
    Cape of Senses Hotel in Lake Garda
    Travel If Slow Luxury Had an Address, It Would Be Cape of Senses—Inside One of Lake Garda's Most Beautiful Hotels
     
     
    Latest in Features
    The long hair trend and the post-bob era
    Hair I’ve Spent Two Years Growing My Bob—Turns Out, There's a Reason Long Hair Is Trending
    @nlmarilyn in transitional autumn outfits
    Fashion Goodbye Summer Dresses, I'm in Autumn Outfit Planning Mode—These 5 Are Fresh
     
     
    Arsenal footballer and Lioness Chloe Kelly
    Health and Fitness Women in Sport 2026: Featuring Chloe Kelly, Elite Beauty Products, Grand Prix 2.0 and So Much More
    Mischa Anouk Smith on an astrology travel trip to Türkiye, where she got engaged less than 24 hours after a birth chart reading.
    Travel I Let Astrology Plan My Holiday—Less Than 24 Hours Later, I Was Engaged
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.