East Grinstead 17 October, Ardingly 24 October, Hurstpierpoint 1 November, Lindfield 5 November, Cuckfield 7 November: times, closures and parking.

Mid Sussex has no single bonfire night. It has a season, and in 2026 it runs for six weeks, from Burgess Hill on the last Saturday in September to Cuckfield two days after the fifth of November.

Five displays are still to come, all with dates confirmed by their organisers: East Grinstead on Saturday 17 October, Ardingly on Saturday 24 October, Hurstpierpoint on Sunday 1 November, Lindfield on Thursday 5 November and Cuckfield on Saturday 7 November. Three are ticketed and two are free with a street collection.

Updated 3 October: East Grinstead and Lindfield have published full timings and road closures, Ardingly now charges £3 to £9 for parking by arrival slot, and Hurstpierpoint’s Danny Park display is confirmed for Sunday 1 November.

The season at a glance

Date Event Where Tickets
Sat 26 Sep Burgess Hill Bonfire Society Burgess Hill Has taken place
Sat 17 Oct East Grinstead Community Bonfire High Street and East Court Free
Sat 24 Oct Ardingly Fireworks Spectacular South of England Showground £12.50 to £15, parking £3 to £9
Sun 1 Nov Hurstpierpoint Family Bonfire Danny Park £8, family £20
Thu 5 Nov Lindfield Bonfire Society Lindfield Common Free, street collection
Sat 7 Nov Cuckfield Charitable Bonfire Cuckfield Park £5 to £12

Timeline of the 2026 Mid Sussex bonfire season: Burgess Hill 26 September, East Grinstead 17 October, Ardingly 24 October, Lindfield 5 November, Cuckfield 7 November

Saturday 26 September: Burgess Hill Bonfire Society (has taken place)

Burgess Hill opened the local season on the last Saturday in September, as it does most years. The date was listed as 26 September in the Confederation of Sussex bonfire societies’ 2026 outmeetings schedule published by Cliffe Bonfire Society. (Cliffe Bonfire Society, Outmeetings 2026) The society has no working website and announces through Facebook and Instagram only. Its next night will be the last Saturday in September 2027.

Saturday 17 October: East Grinstead Community Bonfire

The society has now published its full programme for the night. (East Grinstead Community Bonfire, 2026 Event)

  • 6pm: Remembrance service at the war memorial
  • 7pm: procession starts from Church Lane, along the High Street and down London Road
  • 7.45pm: procession reaches Railway Approach for a short break
  • 8pm: procession leaves Railway Approach, back up London Road, along the High Street, down College Lane and Estcots Drive to East Court
  • 9pm: bonfire and firework display at East Court

The society says all timings are approximate. East Grinstead Town Council’s printed 2026 events listing gives the same date and describes it as “a torchlit procession through the town, followed by fireworks and a bonfire at East Court.” (East Grinstead Town Council, Town Events 2026)

Road closures and parking restrictions from 5.45pm: De La Warr Road, King Street, London Road, High Street, Church Lane, College Lane, Estcots Drive, East Court, Queens Road, Cantelupe Road, St Swithun’s Close, Fairfield Road, Cranston Road, Blackwell Hollow and Portland Road. (East Grinstead Community Bonfire, Road Closures) That takes in most of the town centre, so do not plan to drive through it or park on those streets after 5.45pm.

There is an accessible viewing area at East Court: the pathway at the top of the field, in front of the East Court terrace, which has benches. No admission charge has been published. East Grinstead Community Bonfire is a community interest company, formed in 2022, and it fundraises through pub events and a GoFundMe rather than a gate.

Saturday 24 October: Ardingly Fireworks Spectacular

The biggest ticketed display in the district, with a full published schedule.

  • Venue: South of England Showground, Selsfield Road, Ardingly, RH17 6TL
  • 3pm: car parks open
  • 4pm: ticket gates, site and fairground open
  • 4pm to 5pm: fairground rides reduced to £2 each
  • 5pm: music and entertainment start
  • 6.30pm: lower noise fireworks display for younger children
  • 7.30pm: audience light up
  • 7.40pm: main pyromusical display by Illusion Fireworks
  • 9pm: fairground and event close

Tickets on general release are £15 for adults, £12.50 for children aged 3 to 15 and free for under threes, with a family pass for two adults and two children at £50, all plus a 10% booking fee. The organiser says final release rises to £20, £15 and £65. (Ardingly Fireworks Spectacular)

Parking is no longer included. It is now pre-booked on site per vehicle by arrival slot, and the earlier you arrive the less it costs: £3 for 3pm to 4pm, £6 for 4pm to 5.30pm and £9 for 5.30pm to 7pm, plus the booking fee. Book it with your tickets.

Two other things worth knowing before you book. The organiser advises arriving by 5.30pm at the latest, because arriving in time for the main display alone risks missing it in queueing traffic. And dogs are banned outright: the FAQ says animals are “strictly prohibited anywhere on the showground”, and that this “regrettably includes assistance dogs due to extreme pyrotechnic sound levels.”

Sunday 1 November: Hurstpierpoint Family Bonfire and Fireworks

The Danny Park display is on for 2026, its 29th year, run by Hurstpierpoint Gymnastics Club. The details below are from Hurst Life, the village magazine, which published the event page on 25 September; the gymnastics club’s own website carries no event page. (Hurst Life, Danny House Bonfire and Fireworks)

  • Date and times: Sunday 1 November 2026, gates 4pm, fireworks 5.30pm, bonfire after
  • Venue: Danny Park, New Way Lane, Hurstpierpoint, BN6 9BB
  • Tickets: adult or child £8, family of two adults and three children £20, under threes free
  • Fireworks: Aurora Fireworks; the bonfire is built by the Oldland Windmill trust
  • Parking: limited, and only for registered Blue Badge holders, who show the badge on entry

It is the earliest display of the season in the evening, finishing before most others start, which suits younger children. Prices are up on 2025, when general admission was £7 and the family ticket £18. Money raised goes to Oldland Windmill, Hurstpierpoint Gym Club and local schools including Hassocks Infant School and St Lawrence CE Primary.

Thursday 5 November: Lindfield Bonfire Society

Lindfield does not move its night to a Saturday, and in 2026 the fifth falls on a Thursday. The society has now published the evening’s timings and road closures. (Lindfield Bonfire Society, Bonfire Celebrations 2026)

  • 7pm: procession forms up outside the Stand Up Inn, Lindfield High Street
  • 7.30pm: torchlight procession through the village
  • 8.15pm: Bonfire Prayer and lighting of the bonfire
  • 8.30pm: grand firework display on Lindfield Common
  • 9pm: end

All timings are approximate and weather-dependent. The procession heads down Black Hill, along Hickmans Lane, back up the High Street and down Lewes Road, entering the Common by the main Lewes Road entrance at about 8pm.

It is free to attend. The society says the night costs about £18,000 to stage and asks for a donation: street collection buckets on the night, an online SumUp link, or a programme for a minimum £2 from village outlets and its online shop. The collection goes to Riding for the Disabled, CLAPA, Finley’s Touch and Orchard House.

Road closures, 6.30pm to 9.30pm: the High Street from Black Hill to the junction with Hickmans Lane, and Lewes Road to the High Street. Hickmans Lane closes from 6.30pm, with no entry onto it from Denmans Lane, Brookway, Finches Park Road, The Welkin, Compton Road or Sunte Avenue. The society’s diversion advice: from Ardingly heading south, go via College Road; from Haywards Heath heading north to Ardingly, use Summerhill Lane.

Parking: the society’s advice is not to come by car. If you must, park on the outskirts and walk in, and keep off the procession route and the roads around the Common, which it lists as including Black Hill, Little Black Hill, Hickmans Lane, Pickers Green, Alma Road, Compton Road, Denmans Lane, Pondcroft, Chaloner Road, Lewes Road, School Lane, Appledore Gardens, Backwoods Lane, Meadow Lane, West Common, Sunte Avenue and the streets off Lewes Road.

The rules are strict: no fireworks or sparklers, no pets, no drones, and the public may not walk in the procession. First aid is at the Bowls Club car park at the top of the Common, and the lost children point is the United Reformed Church on the High Street. The Common is booked for the event to 2029 and the fireworks are by Wizard Fireworks. The full route, every closed road and the parking advice are on our Lindfield Bonfire Night page. (Lindfield Bonfire Society newsletter, August 2025)

Saturday 7 November: Cuckfield Charitable Bonfire and Fireworks to Music

Confirmed, priced and on sale.

  • Date and times: Saturday 7 November 2026, gates 5.30pm, bonfire lit 6.45pm, fireworks to music 7.30pm, close 9pm
  • Venue: Cuckfield Park, Cuckfield, RH17 5AB
  • Tickets: adult £12, child £5, family £30, under fives free
  • Parking: not included in the ticket

(Cuckfield Bonfire Society and its Humanitix ticket page)

Parking is the part people get wrong. Spaces at Cuckfield Park itself are sold at the gate on the night, first come first served. The society also sells 250 advance spaces at Warden Park School, a walk of 10 to 15 minutes, about 0.6 miles, down Broad Street into the High Street. Its own driving advice is to approach from Whitemans Green if you are coming from the north or west, and from Tylers Green if you are coming from the south or east, avoiding the Ansty approach because that is the route to Cuckfield Park and it gets very busy.

The bonfire is lit by the newly elected Mayor of Cuckfield. There is no alcohol on site. Profits go to Holy Trinity School in Cuckfield, Woodlands Meed School in Burgess Hill, Kangaroos, Cuckfield Museum, Cuckfield Playgroup and the Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity.

Haywards Heath has no display of its own

The district’s largest town does not run a bonfire night. Haywards Heath Town Council’s 2026 events calendar lists nothing for the season, and no organiser advertises a display in the town. The two nearest are Lindfield, a mile and a half away on 5 November, and Cuckfield, about two miles away on 7 November. Both are walkable from parts of the town, which matters because both have constrained parking.

What we will update, and when

  • East Grinstead: any change to the programme or closures in the week of 17 October
  • Ardingly: whether tickets sell out and when final release prices start
  • All five: weather postponements, which organisers post on their own sites first

Live closures on the night usually appear on our roadworks and travel page, and the district’s car park charges and hours are on our parking page. More of what is on across the district is on our things to do page.

Sources