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Not only are Heritage Open Days back for another year but this year, they are celebrating their 30th anniversary! The theme for 2024 is Routes, Networks and Connections and promises to be bigger than ever.
Heritage Open Days, England’s biggest festival of history and heritage allows you to discover a whole new side of Britain, with many events taking place in spaces that aren’t usually open to the public and with free entry!
Heritage Open Days is brought to you by the National Trust with support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery. Every single Heritage Open Days event is free, including access to many sites that usually charge for admission.
To help you discover your local history, here are some of the Tourism for All members that are taking part in this year’s event.
North Yorkshire Moors Railway – Various events
Park Street, Pickering, North Yorkshire, YO18 8JJ
Various events are taking place with NYMR - including:
NYMR MPD Waking Tour
NYMR Grosmont Station Tour
NYMR Guided Railw Trail
NYMR Signal Box Demonstration
NYMR Goathland Heritage Station Tour
Though each station has their own accessibility information, you will find the following at their Heritage Open Events.
Disabled parking
Wheelchair access
Hearing loops
Service animals permitted
Disabled toilets
Dog friendly
National Trust Arlington Court
Arlington Court, Arlington, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 4LP
An unexpected jewel on the edge of Exmoor, a complete family estate held by the Chichester family for over 500 years. Arlington Court is the home of The National Trust Carriage Museum, the stables has a vehicle for every occasion ranging from elegant coaches used for state occasions to humble carts that would have carried servants. Children can play on hobby horse or have a go at tacking the model horse.
In the house you will find activities and exhibitions, you can learn more about the life of the last resident of Arlington Court, Rosalie Chichester or discover a trail of objects that do not belong. During this years Heritage Open Days, we will be opening our cellar to behind the scenes guided tours, for the first time.
Outside, we will be in the middle of our Garden celebration. The gardens will be at their peak, bursting with colour, and you can join a guided tour to learn more about the history and work that takes place in the gardens. There will also be guided outdoor history tours, and 3 drop-in heritage skills workshops, including printmaking and rope knotting.
There are also over 20 miles of footpaths to explore, including our popular lake walk, just under two miles, which tours the man-made lake and bridge piers of an unfulfilled Victorian dream. An abundance of wildlife to discover including two species of bat roosting in the cellars, an ancient heronry and a bird hide, to view nature at its best.
Free entry on 14th and 15th September
Disabled Parking
Wheelchair Access
Hearing Loop
Service animals permitted
Disabled toilet facilities
BSL
Changing Places facility
Dog friendly
Find out more here
National Trust Stourhead
Stourhead House, Stourton, Warminster, Wiltshire, BA12 6QH
Join our knowledgeable volunteer guides for a special behind-the-scenes tour into Stourhead's hidden attics, basement and cellars. Once family bedrooms, service quarters and stores, now storerooms and functional spaces, these areas offer a unique insight into the history of the house and the lives of the family and servants who lived there.
Tours last about an hour and may take in up to four floors of the house, climbing up and down many staircases, and accessing some confined and dusty spaces.
Free entry between 6th – 15th September, tours at various times, prebooking required. The tour involves several staircases, please contact the property for more information, the Stourhead site itself features:
Braille guides
Disabled Parking
Accessible Toilets
Find out more here
Herbert Art Gallery
Jordan Well, Coventry, West Midlands, CV1 5QP
There are various events taking place across Heritage Open Days including:
Treasures of the Archives
Meet the Curators
The events feature:
Disabled Parking
Wheelchair accessible
Service animals permitted
Disabled toilet facilities
National Trust Petworth House
Petworth Park, London Road, Petworth, West Sussex, GU28 9LR
Inspired by Baroque palaces of Europe, the 17th-century Petworth House displays one of the finest art collections in the care of the National Trust. See the state rooms featuring paintings and sculpture, including artwork by Van Dyck, Turner, Reynolds and Gainsborough.
Petworth House’s history has been created by one family over 900 years, with the collection highlighting a journey through history including the Gunpowder Plot and Napoleonic Wars. Collection highlights include the earliest English globe in existence, dating to 1592, and carvings by Grinling Gibbons.
The Servants’ Quarters, including the historic kitchens, show a glimpse into the life of the people who worked here.
Outside, the Pleasure Garden features formal borders, woodland walks, and architectural features, such as the Ionic Rotunda. The 700-acre Deer Park, which was transformed in the 1750s and early 1760s by the landscape architect Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, is home to ancient trees and fallow deer.
Explore the House, Servants Quarters, Gardens and Park for free.
Enjoy our Summer of Play games in the gardens, or attend one of our 10 minute Highlight Talks or 45 minute guided tours of the House running throughout the weekend.
Free entry 14th – 15th September, from 10.30-4.30pm
Disabled parking
Wheelchair accessible
Hearing Loops
Service animals permitted
Disabled toilet facilities
Disabled changing facilities
BSL interpretation
Dogs welcome
National Trust The Vyne
Vyne Road, Sherborne St John, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG24 9HL
Explore a nationally recognised 'Discovery House’, including pre-Reformation chapel with stained-glass windows, Oak Gallery and tapestry room.
Enjoy the gardens featuring a walled garden and 17th century summerhouse. Visit the shop selling locally sourced goods and highlights from the National Trust range and the cosy Brewhouse tea-room serving light refreshments and hot and cold beverages. The best picnic spot is the north lawn by the lake.
Dogs are welcome at The Vyne on a lead but only assistance dogs are allowed in the house. We have a dog-friendly indoor seating area available on the ground floor of the tearoom and four-legged friends are welcome in the shop.
Limited indoor and outdoor wheelchairs available to reserve for the day, please call 01256 883858. Paths in the grounds are uneven at times. Woodland paths are difficult to navigate due to tree roots.
Free entry on Saturday 14th September
Disabled Parking
Wheelchair accessible
Hearing loops
Disabled toilets
Learn more about Heritage Open Days and see thousands of other events around the country here.
Related
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) offers four fully accessible ‘fuss-free’ coaches - part of its long-term initiative to make the heritage railway attraction accessible to all thanks to funding secured from the Yorkshire’s Magnificent Journey project (YMJ).
Two Trampers available to hire. Shuttle buggy available most days. Adapted toilets next to tea-room. Dogs on leads welcome in the Carriage Museum, garden, The servants hall and the wider estate. Loose gravel paths, slopes, partly accessible grounds.
Accessible toilets in Spread Eagle courtyard. Mountain trike wheelchairs are available to hire. A Baronmead Stairmate Major stairclimber is available, enabling wheelchair users to access the house.
The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum is committed to being accessible for everyone. Here, you can find information about accessible facilities and resources across the site to plan your visit.
Access to the House is step-free, with designated parking provided for visitors with disabilities and transport available between the car park and the House. The art collection in Petworth House is on the ground floor with level access.
We have an accessible route through the gardens with hard gravel pathways. We also have limited indoor and outdoor wheelchairs available to reserve for the day. Please call 01256 883858.
