Bonfire Night in Blyth

Here is the one thing to get right before anything else: Blyth's fireworks are on Saturday 31 October 2026, not on Bonfire Night. Bonfire Night itself falls on Thursday 5 November this year, almost a full week later. Every year a few families wrap up, drive down to the seafront on the 5th and find a dark, empty beach. Put the 31st in your diary now.

The reason is simple enough. Blyth Town Council stages the display as a Halloween fireworks event, closing a week of Halloween activity in the town rather than marking Guy Fawkes. It is still the big autumn fireworks night for the town, and it is free, so the branding matters far less than the date does.

Saturday 31 October at the Mermaid Car Park

The Blyth Halloween Fireworks Event runs from 4pm to 9pm at the Mermaid Car Park on Blyth Beach, NE24 3PL. Entry is free and there is no booking, no ticket and no gate price. You simply turn up.

From 4pm there is a funfair, food traders and a spooky disco with Halloween characters, so there is plenty to fill the hours before it gets dark. The fireworks are set off over the beach, which means a wide, open sightline and none of the tree cover that spoils the view at inland displays.

Two displays, and why that matters

This is the part that sets Blyth apart from almost every other display in the North East. There are two firework shows on the night, not one.

The 6pm display is low-noise, run specifically for young children and for anyone with sensory difficulties. It uses quieter shells so the spectacle is visual rather than percussive. The main display follows at 7.30pm with the full noise and scale you would expect.

Very few displays in the region do this. If you have a toddler who covers their ears, an autistic child who finds bangs unbearable, or an older relative who would rather not be startled for twenty minutes, Blyth is genuinely the best option on the Northumberland coast. Arrive for the 6pm show, enjoy the funfair, and head home before the loud one starts if that suits you better.

Best for: Best for families with young children or anyone sensitive to noise: the 6pm low-noise display is the strongest reason to choose Blyth over a bigger inland show.

Parking and getting there

The beach car park closes from 4pm, so do not plan to drive down and park at the venue. The council operates a park-and-ride for the event and signposts the other car parks around Blyth, but the sensible advice is to park further back in the town and walk down, or to get dropped off.

If you are coming from the South Beach Estate, Newsham or Ridley Park, walking is easily the quickest option on the night. Links Road and the seafront get busy from late afternoon.

Eating and warming up nearby

The South Beach Retail Centre sits on Links Road within a couple of minutes of the car park, which makes it the natural place to eat. Coastline Fish & Chips is about as appropriate as a firework-night tea gets, and Ciccarelli Artisan Gelato next door does hot drinks alongside the gelato. Breeze Lounge in the same parade is the option if you want to sit down properly.

A little further round, The South Beach on the South Beach Estate is the local for that side of town, and down on the quay the Commissioners Quay Inn is a comfortable spot to end the evening. Blyth Battery, the volunteer-run coastal defence museum on the beach, is worth knowing about for a daytime visit even though it will not be open for the fireworks.

If you want something on Bonfire Night week itself

Because Blyth's event is in October, you may well want a second outing closer to the 5th. Three options are within easy reach.

Blue Flames at Benton is one of only a handful of displays in the whole region held on Thursday 5 November itself. Gates open at 5.30pm with the display at 7.30pm at Whitley Park, NE12 9SF. Tickets are online only, with no sales on the gate, so buy in advance.

The North Tyneside Fireworks Display on The Links at Whitley Bay is free and runs on Sunday 1 November, from 6pm with the display at 7pm. It is the closest thing to a like-for-like swap for Blyth's own seafront show, straight down the coast.

Inland, Morpeth RFC holds its traditional bonfire and fireworks on Sunday 1 November at Grange House Field, with gates at 5pm and the bonfire lit at 6pm. This is the one to pick if you want an actual bonfire, which Blyth's seafront display does not have.

A few practical notes

Sparklers and personal fireworks are not welcome at organised displays, Blyth's included, and stewards will ask you to put them away. Dogs are much happier left at home, even at the low-noise show. Dress for the coast rather than the forecast, because the wind coming off Blyth Beach in late October is colder than the temperature suggests, and bring a torch for the walk back to the car.

For displays across the wider region, including the handful running on Bonfire Night itself, see our Bonfire Night in the North East round-up.

Know of another Blyth fireworks event we should include? Get in touch via our contact page.