Heritage Open Days runs every year in September, with this year’s festival taking place from 12-21 September 2025. This year, there are over 5,800 free events across the country.
As part of the festival, historic buildings and gardens are opened to the public – including some that usually charge entry fees. As Heritage Open Days is in partnership with the National Trust (as well as the Postcode Lottery), this means that many of the Trust's sites will be opened as part of the festival.
Whether you’re a period property lover, history buff or looking for something to entertain the kids, there are plenty of hidden places to discover. Explore one of the UK's largest Cold War bunkers at Alconbury Weald (in Cambridgeshire), walk through the back rooms and corridors of The Leeds Library (which we named as one of the UK’s most spectacular libraries), or wander among wallabies at Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens.
Elsewhere, you can rave in a church nave on the Isle of Wight, explore Black Tudor history through a family-friendly adventure in London or climb the Tower of Spite in Halifax.
While the events are free, many are ticketed – and it's recommended that you pre-book. You can search for nearby events on the Heritage Open Day website.
Discover more historical places around the UK
- Wales has one of the highest concentrations of castles in the WORLD - here's why
- Unsolved mysteries, German battleships and Henry VIII’s favourite war vessel: Discover shipwreck sites across the UK
- There's a part of England that's actually American – and it's right on the banks of the River Thames
- A clifftop ruin that inspired Dracula and a Japanese fortress that looks like a white heron – are these are the most extraordinary castles in the world?
Top image: the Tower of Spite in Halifax. Credit: Wainhouse Tired
