The summer and CBA’s Festival of Archaeology may be drawing to a close but your opportunities for doorstep discoveries are far from over! This September Heritage Open Days, England’s largest community heritage festival, is back with more for you to explore, and all for FREE! Sarah Holloway, Heritage Open Days Programme Manager has some archaeological highlights to tempt you…
Celebrate the long and short history of the stunning Creswell Crags in Nottinghamshire. An ice age valley famous for its cave painting, the team are inviting you to explore its deep and more recent past with expert led trails and an exhibition of community memories – with the added temptation of a picnic full of locally sourced snacks!
Click here to find out more.
Find out this and much more on a tour of Caistor Roman Town in Norfolk. It’s a rare example of a site that wasn’t built over in later centuries so archaeology has revealed a wealth of detail about Roman town life from the grid street pattern, to running water systems and entertainment at the amphitheatre.
Want to find out more about this event? Click here.
Take a walk round history as you wander the trail at Scadbury Moated Manor House, Greater London, which is not normally open to the public. You’ll see the archaeological excavations, foundations of Tudor kitchens, and later evidence too like defences from WWII.
Find out more about the Scadbury Moated Manor House here.
The remains of our 19th century industrial past litter the landscape in dramatic fashion. Take a tour of Ram Hill Colliery in Bristol to see some that include pieces of possibly the last horse-drawn railway to be built in the UK! Along with the tangible ruins of engine house, and chimney you’ll hear how geophysics have helped chart the course of a drain and reservoir highlighting how much more there is to explore beneath our feet.
Click here to find out more.
Discover the evolving story of Sheffield Castle in South Yorkshire on a special tour with the Friends of Sheffield Castle, Old Town Hall and Wessex Archaeology. You’ll hear about its medieval past, its recent archaeological excavations, and plans for its future.
Click here for more information about the tour of Sheffield Castle.
Please note some events require pre-booking, also, there’s a while to go yet before the festival and things change, so do check back on our directory for changes (and more highlights!).
Find out more
- Keep an eye on the event directory as events are added and updated every day.
- Hang on, what about the rest of the UK? Worry not, we are part of a European wide festival so there is much more to explore across the borders; the programmes just have different names. Check out Doors Open Days in Scotland, Open Doors Days in Wales, and European Heritage Days in Northern Ireland just to name our closest neighbours!
