Round Table has confirmed Dunorlan Park for Saturday 7 November 2026, and Benenden runs the same night. Hawkhurst is taking the whole year off.

Two firework displays in this borough have confirmed dates for 2026, and both are on the same night: Saturday 7 November. Royal Tunbridge Wells Round Table runs its charity display at Dunorlan Park, and Benenden Bonfire Society runs its bonfire and fireworks in the field by Benenden School’s main entrance.

Bonfire Night itself falls on Thursday 5 November 2026. Neither display is on it, which is normal here: both organisers use the Saturday after.

The third event people ask about is not happening. The Hawkhurst Gang Bonfire Society is not holding its bonfire and fireworks in 2026 at all.

Dunorlan Park, Saturday 7 November

Royal Tunbridge Wells Round Table announced the date on its own site, in a note under the 2025 listing: “We’re excited to announce that our 2026 display will take place on Saturday, 7th November. Tickets will go on sale in early September” (Dunorlan Fireworks).

Tickets were not on sale when this page was written on 6 September. The “Buy Tickets” buttons on the organiser’s site still point at ti.to/round-table/dunorlan-park-fireworks-2025, which is the sold-and-finished 2025 event page for 1 November 2025. The equivalent 2026 address returns a 404, so there is no 2026 sale page yet. Do not buy from the 2025 link.

The rest of the timings and prices below are the 2025 ones, still published on the organiser’s site, and they are the best guide until the 2026 listing goes up. Treat them as last year’s figures, not this year’s.

  • Site open 5.30pm, display at 7pm, event ends 7.30pm.
  • Fireworks by Frontier Fireworks. Live music from Mint DJs, a performance by Rock Choir, a licensed bar run by Framptons at pub prices, food vendors, LED glow toys, first aid, toilets and an accessible viewing area.
  • 2025 prices: £12.50 an adult (over 16), £8.50 a child aged 5 to 15, free for under-5s. Carers were admitted free on showing a DLA, PIP or ESA award at the gate.
  • No sparklers, no drones, and no alcohol brought in.
  • Download or print your ticket before you arrive. The organisers say the ticketing site has slowed under load at the gate in past years.

The display is watched from the hill opposite the firing area, with the fireworks reflecting off the lake. Proceeds go to local charities and causes: Round Table says the 2024 display raised £35,000.

Parking and getting in

This is the detail that catches people out, and the organisers are blunt about it. There is no general parking at the park.

  • Entrances are on Pembury Road and Bayhall Road (opposite Camden Park). Every other park entrance is closed on the night.
  • A limited number of accessible spaces are available in the Pembury Road car park, first come first served. Cars must be in before 5.30pm and cannot leave until spectators have cleared the park after the display.
  • Everyone else is asked to walk, or to use council car parks. Crescent Road (TN1 2LU) is about a 15 minute walk.
  • Pembury Road is closed to traffic for a period after the display so the crowd can get out safely.

Council car park charges, night rates and which car parks take RingGo are on our parking in Tunbridge Wells page. If you are driving in from outside the town, check roadworks and travel first: this borough has had long-running gas and resurfacing closures through the autumn.

Benenden, Saturday 7 November

Benenden Bonfire Society has published a full 2026 listing (Benenden Bonfire & Fireworks), and its timings are already fixed (event information):

  • Gates open 5.30pm. Food and drink on sale from 5.30pm, card or cash.
  • Bonfire lit 6.30pm. Fireworks 7pm. The society says all times are approximate.
  • The site is the field by the main school entrance, TN17 4ES.
  • Entertainment, a barbecue, and a licensed bar with real ale and soft drinks.
  • Tickets go on sale online from the beginning of October 2026. There is no sale page yet.

Two warnings from the organisers. There is absolutely no parking at Benenden School, and no access to the school during the event. You may drop people at the main gates, but the car then has to be parked in the village, so allow time to walk back. And the field gets wet: they ask people to wear boots. No personal sparklers or fireworks.

Refunds are only given if the event is cancelled. If it is cancelled the society will email online ticket buyers and update its website and social accounts, so no notice means it is going ahead.

Hawkhurst is not running in 2026

The Hawkhurst Gang Bonfire Society, which revived the village’s torchlit procession and bonfire in 2012, has stood 2026 down. Its own site says the bonfire and fireworks “will be in 2027 - we are have a ‘Glastonbury style year off to let the grass grow’” (Hawkhurst Gang Bonfire Society).

That wording is the society’s own, typo included. The King George V ground on The Moor, TN18 4QB, is the usual site, and the society ran a summer party there on 29 August. If you were planning on the procession and the funfair this November, they are not happening.

What is still to be confirmed

  • Dunorlan ticket prices and the 2026 sale link. Promised for early September. Watch dunorlanfireworks.co.uk rather than the 2025 ticket page.
  • Benenden ticket prices. Sale opens at the start of October.
  • Road closures. Neither organiser has published a formal closure order for 2026. Kent County Council’s notices for this borough appear on the Public Notice Portal, and we track the live ones on our roadworks page.

This page will be updated when each of those lands.

Sources