Woolacombe Fireworks 2026: Thursday 5 November

Short answer: Woolacombe Bonfire & Fireworks Night is on Thursday 5 November at the Meadow Playing Fields on South Street. Gates 5pm, fireworks 7.30pm. £7.70 adult, £6.60 child, £25.30 family. Free parking at the beach car park from 5pm.

Why the beach works

Woolacombe faces west across open Atlantic with three miles of flat sand and a seafront that looks straight out. There is nothing to block a view of anything launched from the village or the headland, and there is room for everyone.

The downside is exposure. This beach takes the full weight of whatever the Atlantic is doing, and standing still on it in early November is genuinely cold.

The 2026 display

Woolacombe Bonfire & Fireworks Night — Thursday 5 November. It is on Bonfire Night itself, at the Meadow Playing Fields on South Street, and it is a proper village event rather than twenty minutes in a field.

• Gates 5pm, fireworks 7.30pm. The Meadow Playing Fields, South Street, EX34 7BB.
• £7.70 adult, £6.60 child under 16, £25.30 family saver for two adults and two children — all including the booking fee.
• Tickets online in advance, at the Spar in the village, or on the gate.
• Free parking at the beach car park from 5pm, which is the detail worth knowing on a night when the village fills.
• Live music through the evening, a full bar, hot food and a sweet shop.
• Proceeds go to the Woolacombe Community Fund, the school PTFA and the surf life saving club.

Dates and times here come from the organisers' own ticket page, checked on 24 October 2026. Village displays are run by volunteers and can move or sell out, so confirm before travelling.

The drone show, two days later

Golden Coast Drone Spectacular — Saturday 7 November, and it is free. Golden Coast Holiday Park is flying 150 synchronised drones instead of fireworks: park open from 4pm, display about 7pm, around twelve minutes, no tickets and no booking, and dogs are welcome. That makes Woolacombe the only place in Devon with both kinds of display in the same week.

If anyone in the family finds fireworks difficult — a nervous dog, a child who cannot stand the noise — go to the Saturday rather than the Thursday. Everything about the drone show is here.

Going further afield? Every confirmed firework display in Devon is on one page here, listed by date.

Where to watch from

• The seafront above the beach — level, and closest to the village.
• The beach itself at low tide, which gives you the widest view.
• Mortehoe, up on the headland, for height and a view along the coast.

What is actually open

This matters more in Woolacombe than most places, because the village largely closes for winter. Captain Jacks is specifically named by reviewers as one of very few places open right through the season. The Jube on South Street is the best-rated pub in the village and generally keeps going. Up in Mortehoe, the Chichester Arms is the reliable one.

Parking

Easy in November, which is not something you can say in August. The main car parks are quiet and the machines still want coins.

With a dog

From October the summer dog zoning lifts and the whole beach is open. But fireworks and dogs are a bad combination — see the guide to Bonfire Night with a nervous dog for what actually helps.

Practical

• Arrive early — coastal car parks are small and fill long before the display.
• Take a torch. Seafronts and clifftops are unlit once you leave the promenade.
• Dress for standing still in the dark by the sea; it is far colder than walking.
• Check the last bus back before you settle in somewhere warm.