Bank Holidays in March
If Easter is early enough, people in the UK get the bonanza of a four-day weekend during March. Both Good Friday and Easter Monday are bank holidays (or national holidays) in England and Wales.Scotland does not observe Easter Monday as a bank holiday but many people do take the day off and some shops may be closed.
When I first arrived in the UK, you could not even buy a newspaper on Good Friday. Things have loosened up a bit, but the four day Easter Weekend is still one of the quietest weekends in the UK's cities that you can imagine.
UK Climate Averages for March
March is wet but longer days make up for damp spirits. England experiences the odd phenomenon of more hours of sunshine and more rainfall. Things are beginning to warm up and, in England, it is even beginning to feel like spring. Here are the 30 year averages, to 2000, from the UK Met Office to help you decide what to pack:England
- High - 49°F (9.3°C)
- Low - 36°F (2.4C)
- Average daily hours of sunshine - 3.31
- Average monthly rainfall - 2.62" (66.6mm)
- High - 44°F (6.9°C)
- Low - 33.62°F (0.9°C)
- Average daily hours of sunshine - 2.82
- Average monthly rainfall - 5.46" (138.76mm)
- High - 47°F (8.6°C)
- Low - 36°F (2.4°C)
- Average daily hours of sunshine - 3.00
- Average monthly rainfall - 4.67" (118.8mm)
Daylight Hours
With more than 13 hours of daylight by the end of March, there's plenty of time to see it all. In Scotland, expect to start experiencing the northern phenomenon of days growing longer at a much faster rate than down south; from March 1 to 31, days grow barely 2 hours in London and two hours and 20 minutes in Edinburgh.March Highlights
- Happy St. Patrick's Day The parades and Irish festivals in England's biggest cities get bigger and better every year. Find the best St. Patrick's Day festivities in London, Birmingham and Manchester.
- Happy St. David's Day If you're Welsh you'll be honoring the patron saint of Wales by wearing daffodils, or a leek in you cap, and donning the Welsh national costume. Here's where to find St. David's Day celebrations in Wales.
- And Happy Easter Even if you don't observe the religious holiday, how can you resist all that chocolate? Find out where the best Easter Egg Hunts and Easter Egg Rolls in the UK are happening.
- And dog lovers, brace yourselves. It's time for Crufts. Billed as the world's greatest dog show, more than 20,000 pedigree dogs compete to be the Kennel Club's top dog during four days in March. Will you be one of the more than 150,000 who see Crufts live at the NEC in Birmingham?
Culture and Heritage
- The Hawick Reivers Festival A colorful celebration of the 16th century Border Reivers - Scotland's "riding families" - in a turbulent era of in cattle thieving, plunder, raid, reprisal, blackmail and bloodfeud. Music, re-enactments, a 16th century market and encampment, falconry, storytelling, plays during Easter weekend.
- Mells Daffodil Festival The tiny Somerset Village connected with Little Jack Horner (who may have been the last abbot of Glastonbury) welcomes the spring with a traditional village fete on Easter Monday . There are stalls on the high street, food, crafts, games and a display of classic cars. Some years, there are even daffodils.
- StAnza Scotland's Poetry Festival. Mid March (March 12-16 in 2008) in St. Andrews. Scotland's only regular festival dedicated to poetry, held in Scotland's oldest university town.
- The Glasgow Art Fair Scotland's National Art Fair
- International Jousting Tournament at the Royal Armouries, Leeds.
Sports
- IAAF International Cross Country Championships Edinburgh hosts in 2008
- Cheltenham National Hunt Festival Annual jump racing festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Four days in March.
- Fort William Mountain Festival Winter mountaineering workshops, talks, events, photography, writing competition, mountain art and culture. March 6-14, 2009.
- Scottish Point-to-Point Race Meetings Steeplechase racing by amateur riders over three miles on courses set on farmland. In 2008 - Kelso(Friarshaugh), March 15 and 29
- Head of the River Race Spectacular processional rowing race between two London bridges. Boats start one after another in 10 second intervals and there are 420 eights - making this the biggest continuous rowing event in the world.
- Six Nations Rugby International continues. Scotland plays England at Murrayfield, Edinburgh, (March 8, 2008)
Music and Performing Arts
- Chipping Norton Music Festival One of the oldest festivals of its kind, this celebration of music making in the Cotswolds celebrated its centenery in 2004. End of February to mid March.
- Sadler's Wells Flamenco Festival Annual gathering of flamenco artists from around the world.
- Magner's Glasgow International Comedy Festival, March 6 to 23, 350 shows, 18 Days, 40 Venues, 99,000 Tickets.
- Music in the Castle Folk Festival Benmore Centre, near Dunoon, Argyll, 4 days in March. Includes concerts, ceilidh dancing and outdoor activities in the Argyll forest area.
- The Blend Traditional music festival in Stirling.
- Inverness Music Festival Competitive instrumental and vocal music event for all ages with gala concerts. Inverness, Scotland, March 7 to 18, 2009
- Bradford International Film Festival The National Media Museum, Bradford, Yorks., March 13-18, 2009.
- Edinburgh International Harp Festival From traditional European harp music to modern New York Jazz. Six days at the end of March, beginning of April.
- Shakespeare Unplugged A fresh approach to the Bath Shakespeare Festival, "Unplugs tradition and re-wires the way you see that Bard bloke." End of February, through March 9 at the Theatre Royal in Bath.
- Birds Eye View Film Festival First UK film festival devoted exclusively to women directors. March 6-13 at the National Film Theatre, Barbican and ICA, all in London.
- Gosport&Fareham Easter Festival - Celtic music and dancing, parties and ceilidhs in these Portsmouth Harbour towns, from Thursday before Easter to the Monday after. (March 20-24 in 2008)
