Bonfire Night is a mainstay of British autumn. There’s just something about November 5 that feels so cosy and wholesome. We wrap up warm with our loved ones, sip on mulled wine and crunch on toffee apples while we commemorate the thwarting of the Gunpowder Plot 400 years ago and celebrate the gruesome hanging, drawing and quartering of Guy Fawkes and his conspirators. As we said – wholesome!
But not all Bonfire Night displays are created equal. Some go all out with their fireworks displays, some have bizarre centuries-old traditions and some have gone all high-tech with drones and lasers. Now the Telegraph has revealed its ranking of the very best.
Topping the list is the firework festival at Alexandra Palace in London. This year, the two-day extravaganza will have a drone show alongside its usual fireworks, live music, street food and beer hall. You can find out more with Time Out’s guide here. London took second place, too, with Battersea Park’s display.
The best Guy Fawkes event outside of London, according to the Telegraph, is Leeds Castle Fireworks Spectacular in Kent, followed by the Great Rye Fawkes Pageant in Sussex, which features a parade of ancient Bonfire societies with drums and firetorches.
Among the more unusual (and slightly unnerving) events on the list is the The Tar Barrels of Ottery St Mary in Devon, a fire festival where tar-filled barrels are set alight outside local pubs and carried through the town by appointed ‘barrel rollers’. Don’t expect any fireworks though.
The UK’s best Bonfire Nights, according to the Telegraph
- Alexandra Palace Fireworks Festival, London
- Battersea Park Fireworks, London
- Leeds Castle Fireworks Spectacular, Kent
- The Great Rye Fawkes Pageant, Sussex
- Southampton Fireworks, Mayflower Park, Southampton
- Low Noise Fireworks at Old Down Country Park, Bristol
- The Tar Barrels of Ottery St Mary, Devon
- Gisburne Park Estate, Lancashire
- Pyromusical, Bishop Auckland, County Durham
- Fireworks Extravaganza, Mayfield Park, Manchester
- Hawarden Estate, Flintshire
- Fawkes Festival, Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh
The fifth of November with Time Out
Here’s Time Out’s own pick of the country’s best fireworks displays and the finest in London, plus guides to the Battersea extravaganza and other displays in Wimbledon, Dulwich and Morden Park. If you want to know more about the history of Bonfire Night, here’s our review of The Gunpowder Plot immersive experience.
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