Canterbury Remembrance Sunday is 8 November. Last year's parade left Iron Bar Square at 10.10am for the Buttermarket; Whitstable and Herne Bay times inside.

Remembrance Sunday falls on Sunday 8 November 2026, and Armistice Day on Wednesday 11 November. Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay each hold their own parade and service at their war memorials. None of the organisers has published 2026 timings yet, so this page sets out what happened last year, with each time attributed to its source, and will be updated when this year’s arrangements and Kent County Council’s road closure orders appear.

The quick answer

Is it on this year? The date is fixed: Sunday 8 November. In 2025 Canterbury’s parade mustered in Iron Bar Square and set off down Burgate at 10.10am for the Buttermarket war memorial, followed by a 10.45am service in Canterbury Cathedral. Roads around Burgate closed from 8.30am, and the event was due to end by 1pm. Whitstable’s 2025 parade started in Harbour Street at 10.20am; Herne Bay’s left William Street at 10.25am for Memorial Park. Expect the same pattern in 2026, but check back for confirmed times.

Canterbury: what happened in 2025

KentOnline published the district’s arrangements on 5 November 2025 (KentOnline, 5 November 2025). For Canterbury it reported:

  • The parade was led by the band of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment. It mustered in Iron Bar Square and set off down Burgate at 10.10am to the Buttermarket war memorial, outside the Cathedral’s Christ Church Gate.
  • Road closures were in place from 8.30am, and the event was expected to finish by 1pm.
  • After the Cathedral service, the parade marched through Sun Street, Guildhall Street, The Parade and Rose Lane.

The Cathedral’s own order of service for 2025 shows A Service for Remembrance Sunday at 10.45am on 9 November 2025 (Canterbury Cathedral, order of service). It asked the congregation to be in their places in the Nave by 10.35. The Lord Lieutenant and civic dignitaries were received at the Great West Door, the British Legion standards were received during the first hymn, and the Two Minutes’ Silence was kept inside the Cathedral, followed by Reveille. The service was livestreamed, and the Cathedral warned that people attending might be seen on camera. A Sung Eucharist followed at 12.15pm in the Crypt.

The 2026 service has not yet appeared on the Cathedral’s opening times and closures page, which on 4 October 2026 did not yet list November. Visitor access to the Cathedral is normally restricted around major services, so tourists planning a visit that morning should check that page nearer the day.

The week around it

KentOnline also reported two other 2025 events in the city:

  • Field of Dedication, Thursday 6 November 2025, 6pm: the Lord Mayor and the president of Canterbury Royal British Legion laid crosses at the East Kent Yeomanry Memorial.
  • Armistice Day, 11 November 2025: a two-minute silence at 11am at the Buttermarket memorial, with a bugler sounding the Last Post and Reveille.

Armistice Day in 2026 is a Wednesday. We have not found 2026 details for either event yet.

Whitstable

In 2025 the Whitstable parade started in Harbour Street at 10.20am and marched to the war memorial on the library forecourt in Oxford Street, with roads closed from 10am until midday (KentOnline, 5 November 2025). Oxford Street is part of the B2205 through the town, so expect diversions through the centre that morning.

Herne Bay

Herne Bay’s 2025 parade left William Street at 10.25am and went via the High Street and Richmond Street to Memorial Park, where the service is held at the war memorial. Roads were closed from 10.15am until 10.50am, and the event was due to end by midday. On Armistice Day there was a two-minute silence at 11am in Memorial Park (KentOnline, 5 November 2025).

What is confirmed for 2026, and what is not

Status on 4 October 2026
Date Confirmed: Sunday 8 November (Remembrance Sunday is always the second Sunday of November)
Armistice Day Confirmed: Wednesday 11 November, two-minute silence at 11am
Canterbury parade times and route Not yet published; 2025 above
Cathedral service time Not yet published; 10.45am in 2025
Road closures No Kent County Council order yet for any of the three towns
Whitstable and Herne Bay times Not yet published; 2025 above

We checked Kent County Council’s Canterbury traffic regulation notices on the Public Notice Portal on 4 October 2026: the bundles published so far cover roadworks only, with no Remembrance closures. Canterbury City Council has not published anything about Remembrance in its newsroom since 2020. Last year’s arrangements were in the local press on 5 November, so 2026’s may also arrive late; we will add them here as soon as they appear.

Parking and getting there

Burgate, Iron Bar Lane and the streets around the Buttermarket are inside the city walls and closed to traffic for the parade, so come in on foot from a car park outside the centre or use Park and Ride: New Dover Road and Wincheap buses run every ten minutes on Sundays, and Sturry Road every 15 minutes. Car parks, prices and Sunday arrangements are on our parking in Canterbury page. Any road closure orders for the morning will go on our Canterbury roadworks and travel page when Kent County Council publishes them.

The Buttermarket is small and fills well before the parade arrives. If you want to see the wreath laying, arrive before the parade sets off; last year that was 10.10am.

Also in November

Kent Cricket’s fireworks evening at the St Lawrence Ground is on Thursday 5 November, three days before Remembrance Sunday: see our Canterbury fireworks page. The Canterbury Christmas market opens on 12 November. Everything else on this month is on What’s on in Canterbury.

Sources