IWM Duxford's first fireworks night is 5 November, from £15. Cambourne is free on the 6th, Sawston and Over free on the 7th. Two big villages still undated.
Five firework displays in and around South Cambridgeshire now have confirmed 2026 dates, and one of them is new: IWM Duxford is holding its first fireworks night on the airfield. Bonfire night itself is Thursday 5 November 2026.
The quick answer
- Thursday 5 November: IWM Duxford, 4.30pm to 8pm, fireworks 7.30pm. Ticketed: adults £15 in advance, children £10, under-5s free.
- Thursday 5 November: Midsummer Common, Cambridge, free, from 6pm, fireworks 7pm.
- Friday 6 November: Cambourne, free, from 6.30pm.
- Saturday 7 November: Sawston (fireworks 6.45pm) and Over (from 6pm), both free.
- No 2026 date yet: Great Shelford and Histon and Impington.
Updated 3 October: IWM Duxford, Cambridge, Sawston and Over have all announced since our last check; Cambridge City Council’s display moves to Thursday 5 November.
| Date | Display | Where | Times | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 5 Nov | Fireworks Night at IWM Duxford | IWM Duxford, CB22 4QR | Gates 4.30pm, fireworks 7.30pm | From £15, under-5s free |
| Thu 5 Nov | Cambridge Fireworks Night | Midsummer Common, Cambridge | From 6pm, fireworks 7pm | Free |
| Fri 6 Nov | Cambourne Firework Night | Great Cambourne, CB23 6FY | From 6.30pm | Free |
| Sat 7 Nov | Sawston fireworks | Huckeridge Hill, Sawston | Food 6pm, fireworks 6.45pm | Free |
| Sat 7 Nov | Over Firework Night | Over Community Centre, CB24 5NW | From 6pm | Free |
IWM Duxford: Thursday 5 November, ticketed
The Imperial War Museum is putting on a Fireworks Night at IWM Duxford on Thursday 5 November, 4.30pm to 8pm, on the historic airfield, with fairground rides, food stalls, aircraft engine runs, and Hangars 1 and 2 open.
Before the fireworks, IWM is recreating FIDO, the wartime Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation that lined runways with flames to clear fog for returning bombers. IWM says it believes this is the first recreation since the system was retired in 1960, with the Aircraft Restoration Company’s Bristol Blenheim Mk IF framed by the flames.
The published timetable:
- 4.30pm gates open: food stalls, fairground and hangars
- 5.30pm engine run
- 6.30pm FIDO display
- 7.30pm fireworks, ending 7.45pm
- 8pm event ends
| Ticket | Advance | On the day |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, 16+ | £15 | £17.50 |
| Child, 5 to 15 | £10 | £11.50 |
| Under 5 | Free | Free |
| Photography package | £100 | n/a |
The Avro Lancaster tour upgrade has already sold out. Parking is free, but you need to add a free parking ticket when you book, and IWM warns spaces are limited. Engine runs depend on the weather. (IWM, Fireworks Night at IWM Duxford)
Midsummer Common: Thursday 5 November, free
Cambridge City Council’s display is the biggest free one in the area and pulls people in from the villages. It is on Thursday 5 November this year. Food vendors, a live DJ and walkabout acts (two giant illuminated caribou puppets and a pair of stilt-walking jellyfish) start at 6pm, and the Pains Fireworks display begins at 7pm. It is free and unticketed. (Cambridge City Events)
Cambourne: Friday 6 November, free
Cambourne Town Council lists Firework Night on Friday 6 November 2026, from 6.30pm, at the Great Cambourne cricket pitches, CB23 6FY, with food trucks, bars, hot drinks and funfair rides. Entry is free and Bowdens estate agent is the sponsor. (Cambourne Town Council)
The district council’s Visit South Cambs listing gives the venue as the football pitches on Back Lane, with the same postcode. The town council runs the event, so go by its wording, and expect the site to be signed on the night. (Visit South Cambs)
6.30pm is the start of the evening, not the display. The Cambridge Independent reported in June that the fireworks themselves run 7pm to 7.30pm, in a report on the town council taking the display over from the volunteer committee that ran it for 16 years. (Cambridge Independent, 29 June 2026) That handover is why cambournefireworks.co.uk still says “November 2025 tbc” and gives a 7.30pm display: it is last year’s page.
On parking, the council says nothing, but this has long been a walk-if-you-can event. In 2024 part of Back Lane, between the High Street and Sterling Way, was closed from midday until about 10pm. (Cambourne Information, 2024 listing) No 2026 closure has been published yet.
Sawston: Saturday 7 November, free, but the field is shut
Sawston Parish Council confirmed on 17 September that this year’s fireworks are on Saturday 7 November, and that “this year will be a little different”: the field on Huckeridge Hill will not be open to spectators, for safety reasons. The road will still be closed, and refreshments will be at the top of the hill: hot dogs and burgers from the ATC, hot crêpes from the ice cream van, and a pizza van. Food from 6pm, fireworks due at 6.45pm. Free. (Sawston Parish Council)
The council’s older fireworks page is still headed “Fireworks 2025” with a 1 November date; use the 2026 post.
Over: Saturday 7 November, free
The annual Over Firework Night is on Saturday 7 November from 6pm at Over Community Centre, The Doles, CB24 5NW. Free entry, with street food and a disco. (Visit South Cambs, Over Community Centre calendar)
Still no date: Great Shelford and Histon
Great Shelford, Shelford Rugby Club. The parish display on the Davey Field, Cambridge Road, CB22 5JJ, ran on Saturday 8 November 2025: free, gates 5pm, fireworks 7pm, parking across the road at Scotsdales. On 3 October the club’s events page showed no upcoming events at all, and the parish council’s page still carries a 2023 date. (Shelford Rugby Club events, Great Shelford Parish Council)
Histon and Impington, Impington Village College. The volunteer-run Fireworks Extravaganza, the one ticketed village display, still has “9 November 2024 at IVC” at the top of hifireworks.org.uk, and its tickets page now returns “page not found”. (HI Fireworks) The same villages’ Bonfire Burn 10k is confirmed for Sunday 1 November, starting 10.30am at the recreation ground, but that is a race, not a display. (Bonfire Burn 10k)
Getting there
Every display above warns about limited parking. Duxford needs a free parking ticket booked in advance; Sawston closes the road on Huckeridge Hill; Cambourne has closed part of Back Lane in past years. Our parking in South Cambs page explains why the district runs no car parks of its own, and the roadworks and travel page covers closures on the village routes.
Halloween comes first, on Saturday 31 October: our Halloween page has the parties, trails and pumpkin fields. We check the organisers’ pages weekly and will add Great Shelford and Histon as soon as they announce.
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