April and May are fantastic times of year. Not only are we enjoying some lovely spring sunshine, there are also three bank holiday weekends in a relatively short time. We have Easter, early spring bank holiday and Spring bank holiday all within a few weeks of each other.
What better time to get away from it all in a lovely holiday cottage?
Not only do we have some long weekends, the trees are green, lambs are out, flowers are budding and life is renewing once more. It’s a fantastic time of year, especially after the winter we had!
Wherever you live, wherever you want to go, we have a holiday cottage for you. With over 15,000 high quality holiday lets on our books, there really is something here for everyone. Whether you’re looking for a romantic cottage, something near the city, by the seaside, a holiday cottage for all the family, with a pool, a pet friendly holiday let or something else. We can help.
The origin of bank holidays
There are eight public holidays in a given year and we have had three of them already. That leaves just five for the remainder of the year. They are:
- Early May bank holiday – Monday 5th May
- Spring bank holiday – Monday 26th May
- Summer bank holiday – Monday 25th August
- Christmas Day – Thursday 25th December
- Boxing Day - Friday 26th December
Originally, bank holidays were exactly that. The Bank of England would close its doors for business to observe saint’s days and religious festivals and no business was conducted. This had a ripple effect, which led other businesses to close their doors too.
There were 33 bank holidays a year until the Bank Holidays Act 1871 which reduced it to four. They were Easter Monday, Whit Monday (which could fall anywhere between 11 May and 14 June), the first Monday in August (later changed to the last Monday) and Boxing Day on 26th December.
August bank holiday was introduced in 1965 and formalised in law by the Financial Dealings Act 1971, which also reaffirmed the existing bank holidays. The Spring bank holiday was added in 1978 and the early Spring bank holiday was introduced to replace Whitsun.
So while the banks aren’t popular for much these days, at least they were the reason we get extra days off during the year!
If you want to make the most of your bank holidays, why not try a holiday cottage somewhere nice? Holidaycottages.net has a huge variety of cottages, of all shapes and sizes, across the UK and Ireland. Each has something different to offer and each will offer excellent value for money!
Check out our range of holiday cottages this bank holiday weekend. We think you’ll love them!