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5 Best Things to Do in London During Bonfire Night
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Bonfire Night 2026 lands on Thursday 5 November, and anyone planning things to do in London during Bonfire Night should start with an awkward fact: the capital runs no single display. The anniversary of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot is scattered across borough parks, charity playgrounds and sports clubs, most of them ticketed and several of them sold out weeks ahead. The two largest, in the 196-acre Alexandra Palace Park and in the 200-acre Battersea Park, have both scheduled Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November rather than the fifth itself.
The five picks below run in date order, from the night itself to the middle of the month, because in London the fireworks fortnight matters more than the single date. Coram's Fields in Bloomsbury and Wimbledon Park in Merton both go ahead on Thursday 5 November. Alexandra Palace Park and Battersea Park share the weekend after. The Lord Mayor's Show closes the run on Saturday 14 November, a free daytime procession through the City of London that gives you a reason to stay on past the last rocket.
Every entry carries an exact address with postcode, the nearest station with its line, and a specific hour to turn up, because gates at these displays open hours before anything is lit and the queues build long before the first shell. Pair them by geography if your time is short. Coram's Fields and the Lord Mayor's Show both sit under three kilometres from Charing Cross and are walkable from central London. Wimbledon Park and Battersea Park make a southwest pair on the District and Northern lines. Alexandra Palace stands on its own in the north. Every display on this list is outdoors and most are ticketed in advance, so check London weather the day before rather than on the night, because organisers cancel for wind long before they cancel for rain. Visitors combining this with the film festival earlier in the autumn will find the same geography applies. The hotels in London near Charing Cross put Coram's Fields and the Lord Mayor's Show within walking distance and the two southwest parks one line away.
1Coram's Fields - The Free 5 November Display You Cannot Enter Without a Child
Coram's Fields holds its fireworks on Thursday 5 November 2026 and charges nothing to get in. The seven acres behind Guilford Street were the grounds of Thomas Coram's Foundling Hospital, founded in 1739; the playground that replaced it opened in 1936 and turns 90 in 2026. The running order puts performances by local children first and the fireworks last, with a small funfair alongside. Exact timings for 2026 had not been published when this guide was written, and the charity says the programme will be announced closer to the date, so confirm before you set out.
The catch is built into the place. Coram's Fields is a children's park, open to under-16s, and adults are only permitted to enter if accompanied by a child. The rule holds on fireworks night as on any other day. That makes this the best free option in central London for families with young children and a complete non-starter for anyone travelling without them. It also keeps the crowd small, early and calm, which is a real contrast with the borough displays where getting out again is the hard part.
Because 5 November 2026 falls on a Thursday, the Night Tube is not running. It operates on Friday and Saturday nights only. That matters less here than anywhere else on this list, since a display aimed at primary-school children finishes long before the last weeknight trains. Russell Square station on the London Underground (Piccadilly line) is about seven minutes on foot from the Guilford Street gate, and Holborn is roughly twelve.
Pro Tip: Get to the gate at 93 Guilford Street by 17:30 on Thursday 5 November. Every adult in your group needs a child with them to pass the entrance, so sort out who is walking in with whom before you join the queue, not at the barrier.
2Wimbledon Park - The Ticketed Display That Actually Happens on the Fifth
Merton Council has confirmed two dates for its Fireworks in the Park programme: Thursday 5 November 2026 at Wimbledon Park and Saturday 7 November 2026 at Morden Park. That makes Wimbledon Park one of the few sizeable ticketed displays in London staged on Bonfire Night itself rather than shunted to the weekend. Ticket prices, gate times and the running order for 2026 were still unpublished in late August 2026; the council's page says only that information will appear closer to the event and invites people to join a mailing list.
The park is 27 hectares (67 acres) of open ground next to the All England Lawn Tennis Club, with a lake formed in the 18th century when Capability Brown dammed a brook across the estate. In early November that open ground is usually soft, and the grass churns quickly under a display crowd. Wear boots rather than trainers. Entrances run off Home Park Road, Wimbledon Park Road and Revelstoke Road, and the park's ordinary hours are 8am to dusk on weekdays.
Getting out is the weak point. Wimbledon Park station sits on the London Underground (District line) in Zone 3, one stop from Wimbledon, a small two-platform station absorbing an entire display crowd at once. Southfields, the next station towards central London, is about fifteen minutes on foot from the Home Park Road side and normally clears faster. Since 5 November 2026 is a Thursday, there is no Night Tube on the District line or anywhere else, so check the last District line departure before you leave home.
Pro Tip: Sign up to Merton Council's fireworks mailing list now and buy within a day of the on-sale email. The Wimbledon Park date is the only Merton display on 5 November itself, and it moves faster than the Morden Park show two days later. Walk to Southfields station afterwards instead of queueing at Wimbledon Park.
3Alexandra Palace Park - Saturday for the Party, Sunday for the Children
The Alexandra Palace Fireworks and Drone Festival runs on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November 2026, with gates at 16:00 on both days. The two nights differ. Saturday is the late one: display at 20:00, a German beer festival, live music and DJs. Sunday is the family day: display at 18:00, children's entertainment, smaller capacity. Both nights carry a bonfire, funfair, ice rink and street food. Early-bird tickets start at GBP 10.50 (about EUR 12) for ages 11 to 15 with fees included, and under-10s go free on Sunday early-bird tickets while they last.
Presale access opened on Wednesday 2 September 2026 at 12:00 for people registered on the mailing list, the practical route to the cheap tiers. The setting does the rest: 196 acres on a ridge more than 300 feet (91 metres) high, with the fireworks going up against a view of the whole city. The palace itself, rebuilt by 1875 after fire destroyed the original in 1873, is where the BBC made the world's first regular public high-definition television broadcasts in 1936.
The honest downside is the hill and the exit. Everyone who walks up from Wood Green station on the London Underground (Piccadilly line), fifteen minutes uphill, walks back down it in a crowd. Alexandra Palace railway station, on Great Northern services to Moorgate, is closer at about ten minutes and drains into rail rather than one tube line. Saturday 7 November is a Saturday, so the Piccadilly line Night Tube does run that night; Sunday 8 November it does not.
Pro Tip: Register for the presale, then take Sunday 8 November if anyone in your group is under 10, since they go free on early-bird Sunday tickets and the 18:00 display finishes before bedtime. Leave down the east side to Alexandra Palace railway station for Moorgate rather than joining the Wood Green crawl.
4Battersea Park - The South London Rival That Sells Out Before Prices Land
Battersea Park has taken the same weekend as Alexandra Palace: Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November 2026. As of late August 2026 the official site listed dates but no prices, with tickets on sale soon and a presale list running. The most recent edition gives the shape of it. Over-16s paid GBP 14.20 to GBP 15.00 (roughly EUR 16 to EUR 17) plus booking fee, ages 5 to 15 paid GBP 9.50 (roughly EUR 11), under-5s free, and it sold out. Gates opened at 18:00 for fireworks around 20:30 on the Saturday, and 16:30 for around 19:00 on the Sunday.
The park is 83 hectares (200 acres) laid out in 1858 on former marshland, leaving room for a bonfire village and funfair well away from the launch site. The same ground holds the Peace Pagoda, put up in 1985 and still tended daily by a Buddhist monk, Reverend Gyoro Nagase, plus a boating lake and the 24th Division war memorial of 1924. Arrive an hour early and walk the riverside path rather than stand in the food queue.
No parking inside the park beyond a few disabled bays; a cycle park operates at Albert Gate. Battersea Park railway station is one stop from London Victoria on South Western Railway, three minutes from the gates, which is why it jams afterwards. Queenstown Road (Battersea) is the overlooked alternative a few minutes west; Battersea Power Station on the London Underground (Northern line) is fifteen minutes on foot. Buses 19, 170, 319 and 345 serve the park.
Pro Tip: Pick one of Battersea Park and Alexandra Palace, not both, because they clash on the same two nights. If you choose Battersea, come in to Battersea Park railway station from London Victoria and walk out to Queenstown Road (Battersea) afterwards; it adds five minutes and skips the worst of the crush.
5The Lord Mayor's Show - The Free November Spectacle Nobody Needs a Ticket For
Nine days after Bonfire Night, the City of London puts on a November event needing no ticket and no mailing list. The Lord Mayor's Show takes place on Saturday 14 November 2026 and sets off at 11:00 from Mansion House on Walbrook. It falls on the second Saturday in November, attached to an office that has existed since 1189, and is free to watch from anywhere on the route. The 2025 procession ran more than three miles, and the Lord Mayor's gilded State Coach is drawn by six horses.
The route runs from Mansion House past Bank junction and along Cheapside, then down Fleet Street and the Strand to the Royal Courts of Justice, returning by Aldwych, Temple Place, Victoria Embankment and Queen Victoria Street. Details of the 2026 edition, including the participant list and evening programme, appear around the beginning of October, so treat anything you read before then about a river fireworks finale as unconfirmed.
Expect road closures across the City of London from early morning, with Bank junction and Cheapside shut to traffic and buses diverted well beyond the route. That is the trade-off for a daytime event in a part of London that is otherwise dead on a Saturday. Mansion House station on the London Underground (Circle and District lines) is about three minutes from the start; Bank station, served by the Central, Northern and Waterloo and City lines and the Docklands Light Railway, sits on the route itself and gets busy from 10:00.
Pro Tip: Stand on Cheapside near St Mary-le-Bow by 10:30 rather than squeezing into the Walbrook junction at Mansion House. The procession leaves at 11:00 and takes a while to reach you, the pavement is wider, and you can duck into the churchyard when the November rain arrives.
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CEO and co-founder
Tomas is the co-founder and director of trip1, an European company specializing in reservation services. He launched the company in 2025 with a focus on building scalable, efficient operations.
5 Best Things to Do in London During Bonfire Night - FAQ
Yes, Bonfire Night is always 5 November, but in 2026 that falls on a Thursday and the two biggest London displays, at Alexandra Palace Park and Battersea Park, move to Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November. Coram's Fields and Wimbledon Park hold theirs on the fifth itself. There is no Night Tube on a Thursday, so plan your journey home around weeknight timetables.
The biggest displays in 2026 are at Alexandra Palace Park and Battersea Park, both on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November. On 5 November itself, Wimbledon Park holds a ticketed display and Coram's Fields in Bloomsbury a free one, though Coram's Fields only admits adults who come with a child. If you can only go to one, pick the 7 to 8 November weekend.
It depends on the display, so check each official site for current 2026 prices. At Alexandra Palace, early-bird tickets for ages 11 to 15 start at GBP 10.50, and at Battersea Park's most recent edition over-16s paid GBP 14.20 to GBP 15.00 and ages 5 to 15 paid GBP 9.50. The big displays sell out, so book as soon as tickets go on sale.
Only with children. The free display at Coram's Fields in Bloomsbury on 5 November admits adults only if they come with a child under 16. The Lord Mayor's Show on Saturday 14 November is free to watch from the street, but it is a daytime procession and a fireworks finale is not confirmed. Alexandra Palace Park, Battersea Park and Wimbledon Park are all ticketed.
Yes. Guy Fawkes Night and Bonfire Night are two names for 5 November, which marks the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. In London the celebrations spread over a fortnight: in 2026 Coram's Fields and Wimbledon Park hold displays on Thursday 5 November, and Alexandra Palace Park and Battersea Park on 7 and 8 November.
Morden Park holds the second half of Merton Council's programme on Saturday 7 November 2026 and is usually easier to get into than Wimbledon Park. Remembrance Sunday on 8 November brings ceremonies and central road closures that will affect travel that day. Smaller club and school displays across Harrow, Walthamstow, Dulwich and Richmond fill the same fortnight, and several are cheaper than the headline parks.
