Let’s be real: not every store enjoys the luxury of being closed for a long weekend. While you’re lounging in your pajamas, there are entire armies of retail workers clocking in (and yes, let’s give them a silent nod of thanks). Most supermarkets—like Tesco and Sainsbury’s—tend to stay open, but they often reduce their hours to a lazy 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. shift. If you roll in at 3:59 p.m., you might just catch them before they lock the doors with the fury of a thousand wearied cashiers.
Hardware stores are the unsung heroes of the bank holiday Monday. B&Q and Homebase often open their gates for a few hours, usually from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (yes, you read that right—longer than the grocery stores!). Pro tip: check their website first, because local branches sometimes play by their own rules—and nothing is more ironic than driving twenty minutes to a closed B&Q.
What about the big furniture retailers? IKEA, for instance, is a wild card. Some branches are open, others aren’t, and the logic behind it is as mysterious as the assembly instructions for a Malm dresser. Always call ahead. Or do what I do: assume they’re closed until proven otherwise—that way, you’re never disappointed (or stuck assembling a sofa on the pavement).
The "Survival Kit" You Didn't Know You Needed
Let’s talk about the smaller, more unexpected heroes of the day: your local corner shop and the pharmacy. These are the true MVPs of bank holiday life. Need a pint of milk or a pack of ibuprofen at 9 p.m.? The corner shop probably has you covered, even if the selection of crisps is slightly weird. Side note: have you ever noticed that on bank holidays, corner shops always have the least popular flavor of Pringles? It’s like a law of physics.
We Are Open Every Bank Holiday Monday in May - Earnshaws
Pharmacies are another lifeline—many big chains like Boots and LloydsPharmacy keep select branches open, but only for emergency prescriptions and frozen pizza. Okay, maybe not pizza, but definitely for that last-minute hay fever relief or a pack of plasters. Never assume a pharmacy will be open just because the front door is unlocked; sometimes they limit services to "pharmacy-only" counters.
And let’s not forget the DIY stores. If you’re halfway through painting your living room at 11 a.m. and run out of "Duck Egg Blue" paint, you’re in luck. Wickes and Screwfix are often open for a solid eight hours on bank holiday Mondays, ready to save your decorating sanity. But here’s the irony: you’ll probably buy a drill bit you don’t need, just because the sale bin is calling your name.
