Weymouth and Dorchester both start at 10.55am on Sunday 8 November at their war memorials. The Esplanade parade, the roads that shut and free parking.

Remembrance Sunday falls on Sunday 8 November 2026. It is always the second Sunday of November, so the date is fixed and no announcement is needed to confirm it.

Two of Dorset’s biggest civic services are in Dorchester and Weymouth, and both town councils have now confirmed a 10.55am start on 8 November.

Updated 3 October: Weymouth Town Council has published its 2026 Remembrance page confirming the service at 10.55am and the parade to the US Memorial. Road closure notices are still to come.

This page sets out what is confirmed, what is not, and the road closures and parking arrangements that applied last year so you can plan around them.

Dorchester: confirmed for 2026

Dorchester Town Council lists a Remembrance Sunday Service on its Council Events page:

  • Date: Sunday 8 November 2026
  • Time: 10.55am
  • Place: Dorchester War Memorial

The council says the service will be led by a local Reverend, with tributes from local dignitaries and associations. It lists a reading by the Mayor, a performance of the Last Post by a young student, and wreath laying by community groups. The service ends with prayers, a blessing and the National Anthem.

The parade itself is a separate operation from the service, and its road closures are applied for by the organisers rather than the town council.

Weymouth: confirmed for 2026

Weymouth Town Council’s Remembrance Sunday page says the service and parade “will take place on Sunday 8th November”. The Mayor, veterans, councillors, members of the Armed Forces and the public will gather at the War Memorial on Weymouth Promenade from 10.55am, and “a parade along the Esplanade to the US Memorial will follow”, with a service and a short wreath laying there.

The page does not yet give the cannon timings, the wreath-laying deadline or the road closures. In 2025 the council published its fuller briefing on 17 October, and the road closure notice followed on 27 October. Expect the same window this year.

Here is what the council set out for 2025, at the same War Memorial:

  • the service began at 10.55am, conducted by the Mayor’s Chaplain
  • members of the Nothe Fort Garrison fired a cannon from the beach at 11am to start the two-minute silence, and a second at 11.02am to end it
  • wreaths were laid at the War Memorial
  • a parade then went along the Esplanade to the US Memorial, where a second short wreath laying took place

Organisations wanting to lay a wreath at the official service had to tell the council in advance. In 2025 the deadline was the Friday before, by email to events@weymouthtowncouncil.gov.uk. If you represent a school, Scout or Brownie group, watch for that deadline again in late October.

The roads that close

Neither closure notice for 2026 has been issued yet. Dorset Council publishes them at dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/roadworks-events, and both 2025 notices were dated 27 October.

Weymouth in 2025 (notice 25.REM027) closed:

  • The Esplanade between William Street and King Street, 10am to midday
  • The Esplanade between King Street and the King’s Statue, midday to 12.30pm

Parking was suspended from 9pm on the Saturday night until roughly midday on the Sunday, on both sides of the Esplanade between King Street and Lennox Street, along Astrid Way, on Brunswick Terrace in front of the Pier Bandstand, and in front of Enzo’s restaurant. The notice warned that vehicles left in those bays would be removed to the Swannery car park.

Dorchester in 2025 (notice 25.REM.030) closed four roads between 10.30am and 12.30pm:

  • Great Western Road, for its entire length
  • Weymouth Avenue between Copper Street and South Walks Road
  • Trinity Street between Weymouth Avenue and the Trinity Street car park
  • South Walks Road between Weymouth Avenue and Acland Road

Dorset Council stated there would be no signed alternative route for traffic in Dorchester. If you are driving through the town centre that morning, allow extra time. Our Dorset roadworks and travel page carries the current closures.

Parking

Weymouth Town Council applied for free parking on Remembrance Sunday 2025 in the Dorset Council car parks in the town centre. The ten it named were Cosens Quay, North Quay, Governors Lane, Harbourside, Melcombe Regis, Park Street, Pavilion, Pavilion Forecourt, Royal Yard and Swannery.

Free parking has to be applied for each year, so treat it as likely rather than certain until the council confirms it. Charges, machines and permit rules for the rest of the year are on our parking in Dorset page.

Lyme Regis: confirmed for 2026

The Love Lyme Regis listing has the town’s parade on Sunday 8 November, led by the Mayor, the civic party and members of the Royal British Legion. Participants assemble at the Pound Street entrance to Langmoor Gardens at 9am, and at 9.30am the procession goes down Broad Street, along Bridge Street and Church Street to St Michael’s Church for a service at 10am. It then gathers at the clock tower at 10.50am for the two-minute silence at 11am. The public are invited to line the route.

Other Dorset towns

Bridport Town Council runs an annual Remembrance Parade and Service, organised with the Royal British Legion, and issues a media release about it in late October or early November. Nothing for 2026 has been published yet.

Smaller towns and parishes across the county hold their own services at their war memorials, usually timed so the silence falls at 11am. Most publish nothing online until the last fortnight, and some publish nothing at all. If a service matters to you, the parish council or the local Royal British Legion branch is the place to ask.

Is it on this year?

Yes. Both Dorchester and Weymouth town councils have published their 2026 services, each starting at 10.55am. What is still missing is Weymouth’s fuller briefing (cannon times, wreath deadline, free parking) and both towns’ road closure notices, all expected in the second half of October.

We will update this page when they appear.

Frequently asked questions

When is Remembrance Sunday 2026?

Sunday 8 November 2026. Remembrance Sunday is always the second Sunday of November, so the date is fixed years in advance. Armistice Day, the two-minute silence at 11am, falls separately on Wednesday 11 November.

What time does the Dorchester Remembrance service start?

10.55am, at the Dorchester War Memorial. Dorchester Town Council has confirmed that time on its own events calendar.

What time does the Weymouth Remembrance service start?

10.55am, at the War Memorial on the Promenade, followed by a parade along the Esplanade to the US Memorial. Weymouth Town Council confirmed this on its Remembrance page. In 2025 a cannon was fired from the beach at 11am and again at 11.02am to mark the silence.

Which roads close for the Remembrance parades?

None have been confirmed for 2026. In 2025 Weymouth closed the Esplanade between William Street and King Street from 10am to midday, then King Street to the King’s Statue until 12.30pm. Dorchester closed Great Western Road, Weymouth Avenue, Trinity Street and South Walks Road between 10.30am and 12.30pm.

Is parking free in Weymouth on Remembrance Sunday?

It was in 2025, in ten Dorset Council car parks in the town centre. The town council has to apply for it each year, so it is not guaranteed until confirmed.

Sources