The Rotary Five Valleys display is Monday 26 October at Marling School, gates 6pm and fireworks 8pm, £11 advance. Plus the Aston Down and Miserden dates.
Stroud’s big display is the Rotary Five Valleys Fireworks on Monday 26 October 2026 at Marling School Playing Field. Gates open at 6pm, the display starts at 8pm and the event closes at 10pm. Advance tickets are £11 general and £6 for a primary school age child.
That is from the organisers’ own event page, which also sets the deadline that catches people out: advance sales close at 12 noon on Friday 23 October, after which you pay the gate price of £15 and £8. (Five Valleys Fireworks, event info)
The first thing to know is that the town’s main display is not on bonfire night. It falls on the Monday of half term. Gloucestershire schools close on Friday 23 October and go back on Monday 2 November, so both of the district’s two biggest displays land inside that week. (Gloucestershire County Council, term dates)
Five Valleys Fireworks, Monday 26 October
- Where: Marling School Playing Field, Cainscross Road, Stroud
- Gates: 6pm. Display: 8pm. Event closes: 10pm
- Tickets: general £11 advance, £15 on the gate; child of primary school age £6 advance, £8 on the gate; babies and toddlers free, no ticket needed
- Funfair: John Coneley’s, 6pm to 9.30pm
- Organisers: the Rotary Clubs of Stroud, Stonehouse and Nailsworth
The main display is by Star Fireworks, described by the organisers as former British Firework Champions of Champions, choreographed to music. Before it, John Harvey performs three Punch and Judy shows with balloon bending in between for the under 12s.
The event has raised more than £250,000 for local charities and good causes since it moved to Marling School. It began in the 1950s as a display for the children at the Ebley National Children’s Home, which is why older residents still call it the Ebley fireworks. (Five Valleys Fireworks)
Parking: there is none, and that is deliberate
This is a car-free event. The organisers state plainly that there is no car parking at the venue and that drivers will be directed to nearby public car parks. Two disabled blue-badge spaces are available by the main entrance on a first-come, first-served basis, and those need their own ticket.
Stroud’s public car parks are the practical answer, and most of them are a 10 to 15 minute walk. Our parking in Stroud page has the tariffs, including which car parks stop charging in the afternoon and which one charges on a Sunday.
Three rules worth reading before you set off
- Cash only inside. The funfair and every food and drink stall take cash. Card payments are accepted at the main entrance gate only.
- No sparklers. Sparklers, fireworks and laser lights are banned inside the playing field. Anyone carrying them is refused entry, and anyone using them inside is evicted with no refund. The same applies to alcohol and drugs.
- It is a wet grass field in late October. The organisers advise sturdy non-slip footwear and warn that thin-wheeled pushchairs are hard work on soft ground. The display goes ahead whatever the weather.
The first aid point, run by St John, is in the top field just past the gates by the event control barrier, and doubles as the lost children point.
Aston Down, Saturday 24 October: the one with the air display
Two days earlier, Aston Down Airfield near Minchinhampton holds its fireworks and bonfire night, and it is the unusual one. It pairs a pyrotechnic air display with a ground fireworks display, which the organisers say is one of the only chances to see an airborne firework display in the UK this winter.
The running order they publish is precise:
- 14:30 gates open, stalls and activities
- 17:30 gates close, so late arrivals are not admitted
- 17:50 pyrotechnic air display, by Airborne Pyrotechnics
- 18:30 bonfire lit
- 18:50 fireworks display
Tickets are sold by the car: £39 for up to five people, £47 for more than five. They are advance only, with none available on the door, and the organisers said tickets go on sale on Monday 7 September 2026. (Aston Down Events, Fireworks & Bonfire Night 2026)
The venue is Aston Down Airfield, Cowcombe Lane, GL6 8HR, run by the Cotswold Gliding Club.
One warning. Search for this event and you will probably land on a Visit Stroud listing that gives the date as Saturday 28 October and the price as £35 a car. That page was posted in September 2023 and describes the 2023 event. Check the date against the organiser’s own page before you book anything.
Miserden, Saturday 7 November: the one nearest to bonfire night
Miserden Estate holds its display on Saturday 7 November 2026, with gates at 4.30pm and the fireworks at 7pm. It raises money for Miserden School.
There is a bonfire, a glow in the dark disco for children, food stalls, and mulled wine, beer, cider and hot chocolate. The display is by the Skyburst Firework Company. Unlike Stroud, there is free parking in the field, with signs directing you in from the village. (Miserden Estate, Fireworks)
The estate sells advance tickets at reduced rates but does not publish the prices on that page. Cotswolds Tourism lists them as £11 for adults, £6 for under 16s and £28 for a family of four, with early bird rates of £10, £5 and £25. (Cotswolds Tourism, firework displays 2026) Treat those as indicative until the estate confirms them, and book through its own page.
The postcode for the estate office is GL6 7JA, about six miles north east of Stroud on lanes that are dark and narrow at 4.30pm in November.
What has not been announced yet
Three of the district’s regular village displays have published nothing for 2026 as of 5 September.
- Wotton-under-Edge. The Round Table display at Wotton Community Sports Centre is a fixture, but the event’s own website still advertises Saturday 8 November 2025. No 2026 date has replaced it. (Wotton Firework Display)
- Nailsworth and Dursley have both held displays in recent years without a 2026 date being published anywhere first party.
We will update this page as each one confirms. If you are checking a village display elsewhere, look for a date on the organiser’s own site rather than on a listings site: the aggregators in this county are carrying 2023, 2024 and 2025 dates as though they were current.
Is there anything on bonfire night itself?
Thursday 5 November 2026 has no display in Stroud town. The pattern here is half term first, then the villages on the Saturday after. If you want fireworks on the fifth you will be travelling out of the district.
Getting there and back
The Five Valleys display finishes at 10pm and empties several thousand people onto Cainscross Road at once. Walking in from the town centre takes about 20 minutes.
Marling School is also the start and finish of the Stroud Half Marathon, which is run on Sunday 25 October, the day between the Aston Down and Five Valleys displays. If you live near Cainscross Road, that is three consecutive days of traffic on the same stretch.
Check roadworks and travel before you drive, and see things to do in Stroud for the rest of what is on.
Frequently asked questions
When are the Stroud fireworks in 2026?
The Rotary Five Valleys Fireworks are on Monday 26 October 2026 at Marling School Playing Field, Cainscross Road. Gates open at 6pm, the display starts at 8pm and the event closes at 10pm.
How much are tickets for the Five Valleys fireworks?
£11 in advance and £15 on the gate for a general ticket, and £6 in advance and £8 on the gate for a child of primary school age. Babies and toddlers are free and need no ticket. Advance sales close at 12 noon on Friday 23 October.
Where do you park for the Stroud fireworks?
Nowhere at the venue. It is a car-free event and drivers are directed to Stroud’s public car parks, most of them a 10 to 15 minute walk. Two disabled blue-badge spaces at the main entrance are first come, first served and need their own ticket.
Is there a display in Stroud on bonfire night, 5 November?
No. Nothing is on in Stroud town on Thursday 5 November 2026. The nearest display to the date is Miserden on Saturday 7 November.
Can you take sparklers to the Five Valleys fireworks?
No. Sparklers, fireworks and laser lights are banned inside Marling School Playing Field. Anyone carrying them is refused entry and anyone using them inside is evicted with no refund.
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