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September set for boom in heritage open-access events

Image: Union Chapel is taking part in both Heritage Open Days and the Open House Festival (Photo: James Bridle)

Heritage Open Days across the country, Open Doors in Wales, and the Open House Festival in London all begin in September

 

This autumn, three heritage festivals are set to open hundreds of historic sites to the public, free of charge, building on the growing popularity of open-access events in the sector.

Heritage Open Days, England’s largest festival of history and culture, will run alongside Cadw’s Open Doors in Wales and the Open House Festival in London.

Heritage Open Days will run across ten days next month, from 6-15 September. The event is celebrating its 30th year in 2024, with 5,400 events on the bill all over the country. Developed with The National Trust since 2011, it is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and run by thousands of local organisations and volunteers.

Among the events to take place next month is a silent disco on a full-size reconstruction of the famous Elizabethan ship Golden Hinde, a tour of Leeds’ Goth culture, a trip to Lindisfarne Castle, and picnics in Graveyards. There’s also New Wave, which features events run by and for young people.

The festival is part of European Heritage Days, which is a joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission involving all 50 signatory states of the European Cultural Convention under the motto, Europe: a common heritage.

Powis Castle (Cadw)

In Wales, Cadw has this week announced the return of Open Doors – an annual festival that gives visitors access to Wales’ historical locations. It too is part of European Heritage Days, and will take place throughout September.

It will see more than 200 historic landmarks across Wales host a range of free events, guided tours, and immersive experiences, some for the very first time. This year’s Open Doors event is also celebrating a milestone, its 40th anniversary.

Among the locations to be opened to the public are Penrhyn Castle, Dylan Thomas Boathouse, and the Former Magistrates Court in Colwyn Bay.

A visualisation of the new Migration Museum

Also opening next month is the Open House Festival in London, which will open across two weekends: Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 September, and Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September.

The event is run by Open City, a charity which runs similar events in key cities across the globe.

Among the events scheduled is a special tour of the General Market and Poultry Market which are currently in construction at the yet-to-open London Museum, a guided tour of Vestry House Museum to see recently approved £4.5m redevelopment plans, and a hard-hat visit exploring the foundations of Britain’s first permanent Migration Museum, opening in the City of London in 2027/8.