Eight bonfire nights around Lewes this autumn. Firle is £10 if you book by 14 September, Isfield is free, South Heighton £5 cash on the gate. Dates and times.
Sussex bonfire season runs for six weeks, and Lewes on 5 November is only one night of it. Eight societies hold a procession and a display within a short drive of Lewes between the middle of October and the end of November, and most of them are cheaper, calmer and far easier to park at.
Every date below was checked against the society’s own website on 5 September 2026, or against East Sussex Fire and Rescue’s Choose Local list, published on 3 September.
| Date | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sat 17 Oct | Seaford | Not published |
| Sat 24 Oct | Firle | £10 to £17 |
| Fri 30 Oct | Isfield and Little Horsted | Free |
| Sat 31 Oct | Newick | Not published |
| Thu 5 Nov | Lewes | £10 fire site tickets |
| Sat 7 Nov | Chailey | Not published |
| Not announced | South Heighton | £5 |
| Sat 21 Nov | Barcombe | Not published |
Saturday 17 October: Seaford
The procession leaves the White Lion Hotel on Claremont Road at 7.15pm and the fireworks go up over Martello Fields at 9pm. The A259 through the town closes at 7pm. Full timings, closures and the parking problem are on our Seaford Bonfire page.
Saturday 24 October: Firle
The best-organised night of the lot, and the only one that publishes a full price list. Firle Bonfire Society has the torchlit procession through the village at 7pm and the grand bonfire and fireworks at around 9pm.
Tickets are tiered:
- £10 early bird, on sale since 24 August and running until 8am on 14 September
- £12.50 advance, from 14 September up to the day
- £17 on the day
- Children under 13 go free on every tier
Advance tickets carry a booking fee and are non-refundable. Parking is free in the field at Firle Park, signposted from the A27 and stewarded, with accessible parking near the main gate. There is strictly no parking in the village itself. Licensed bar, hot food and toilets are on site.
One trap: the village website at firle.org.uk still advertises the 2025 date. Use the society’s own site.
Friday 30 October: Isfield and Little Horsted
Just over the boundary in Wealden, and free, although the society asks for donations to pay for the following year. The display is in the Isfield Community Enterprise field behind the Laughing Fish pub, and it is held on the last Friday of October every year.
The society is a small one, about 100 members, founded in 2008. Up to 15 visiting societies join its torchlit procession through the village, and it holds a remembrance service with the Last Post before the fireworks start.
Saturday 31 October: Newick
Newick Bonfire Society’s diary puts the roads closed from 6pm to 11pm, and asks people to keep the procession routes clear. The village makes a day of it: guys for the Make a Guy competition are dropped at Newick Village Hall by 9am, and the Bonfire Breakfast is at 10am.
The society does not publish a procession time or an admission charge on its website.
Thursday 5 November: Lewes
The one everybody has heard of, and the one the council asks non-residents to skip. No trains stop at Lewes from 5pm, five main routes close at 4.45pm and on-street parking is suspended from noon. See Lewes Bonfire Night.
Saturday 7 November: Chailey
East Sussex Fire and Rescue lists Chailey on 7 November, but we could not confirm it with the society. The chaileybonfire.co.uk domain has lapsed: it expired in 2026, was caught and auctioned for £55, and now shows a domain sale page. The fire service’s link still points at it.
Until the society publishes somewhere else, treat 7 November as indicative and check locally before setting out.
Not announced: South Heighton
South Heighton Bonfire Society holds its night on the second Saturday in November, which would be 14 November this year, but it has published no date. Its own advice is to “look out for the date on posters and flyers distributed in the local area”.
Everything else about the night is set out on the society’s page:
- Torchlit procession leaves the Flying Fish area in Denton at about 6.30pm, going via Denton Road, Thompson Road, Wellington Road and Heighton Road to South Heighton Recreation Ground
- Fireworks at about 8pm
- £5 for adults, accompanied under-18s free, up to three per family
- Cash only on the gate. No cards, no advance tickets
- Under-18s are not admitted unless an adult is with them
Roads on the procession route close between 5pm and 9pm, with Heighton Road from the village green to The Hollow and The Hollow itself fully closed for those four hours and no access from the A26. There is no parking anywhere in the village and no disabled parking, and the society is direct about it: do not come if you cannot arrive on foot or by bus.
Saturday 21 November: Barcombe
The last one of the season. Barcombe Bonfire Society has confirmed Saturday 21 November 2026 on its home page. Times, route and admission are not published yet.
Before you go
Two things are worth saying about every night on this list. Village fire sites are dark, muddy fields, so wear boots. And several of these societies run on volunteers who close their own roads, so the published times slip.
East Sussex Fire and Rescue’s own advice this year is to go to an organised display rather than light anything at home, after the hot summer. It has already cost one event: Uckfield Bonfire and Carnival Society cancelled its Friday night firework display and dropped traditional torches from the Saturday procession because the ground was too dry.
More on the roads and parking: Lewes roadworks and travel and parking in Lewes.
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