Heritage Open Days runs from Friday 11th to Sunday 20th September 2026 — ten days, thousands of sites across England, all free to visit. It's the country's biggest festival of history and culture, and it works on a simple idea: places that are usually locked up, ticketed or just plain overlooked throw their doors open for free, run by volunteers who actually know the stories behind them.
This year's national theme is "Everyday Histories" — ordinary people, working lives, the stuff that doesn't usually make it into a guidebook.
And we've got a proper spread of it on our doorstep. A guided walk through Wycombe's criminal past. A country house that's normally shut to the public. A 12th-century church with a rare medieval painting. A churchyard holding the graves of 104 service personnel from two world wars.
A few practical things before you dive in: most of these events don't need booking, but a couple do — and a couple are already full, so check before you plan your day around them. Details, contacts and booking links are below for each one. Pack sensible shoes; several involve walking.
🚶 Walking Wycombe with Willie: Lawbreakers and Lawmen
Where: Meet at the We Make Wycombe Hub, Cornmarket, High Street (next to Costa), finishing at Pann Mill in the Rye.
When: Sunday 13th September, 11am–12.15pm. Arrive by 10.50am.
Price: Free, no booking needed.
Duration: Around 1 hour 15-30 minutes.
A free guided walk through High Wycombe's history of crime, policing and the people who broke the law — or enforced it. This one takes in the 1830 Machine Breakers Riots, a murder at Reddy House on Oxford Road, and a High Wycombe newsagent who ended up on the wrong side of the law. You'll walk past Frogmoor, the police station and the Magistrates' Court — where you'll hear how magistrates handle around 85% of criminal cases in England and Wales — before finishing at Pann Mill during its own Open Day. There's also a stop on The Rye at the site of the 1736 hangings, plus tales of 18th-century highwaymen and the Mitford sisters of Marsh Green Mill.
🎨 Hughenden's Open Day & Bucks Artists and Makers Art Exhibition
Where: Hughenden Manor, High Wycombe, HP14 4LA. When: Friday 11th to Sunday 20th September, 10am–4.30pm.
Price: Free — the usual entry charge is waived for Heritage Open Days.
Duration: As long as you fancy.
Hughenden Manor, Benjamin Disraeli's former country home, is opening its gates to all — plus an art exhibition from Buckinghamshire's Artists and Makers group. Disraeli turned this modest Georgian house into a grand Victorian estate, and it later had a top-secret role as a map-making operation during the Second World War — you can explore that in the West Wing. The art exhibition runs in the studybase and covers painting, photography, printing, textiles, ceramics, glasswork, jewellery and sculpture from local artists. There's a shop and the Stableyard Café for refreshments. It's 1½ miles north of Wycombe off the A4128, with parking (car park opens 10am, locked at 4.30pm) and disabled spaces on site — walking or getting the train to High Wycombe station (just under 2 miles away) both work too.
🥾 History of a Chilterns Route
Where: Starts and finishes at the Dashwood Arms, Old Oxford Road, Piddington, HP14 3BH.
When: Sunday 20th September, 10am.
Price: Free — but booking is required, and this one is already fully booked.
Duration: Around 3 hours.
A 3-mile, 2,000-year historical walk up a Chilterns hill above Piddington, covering a medieval settlement, an old turnpike road and a vanished steam railway. Led by local historian Simon Cains, who's written a book on the subject, this walk covers four different routes up the hill west of Piddington — one possibly plotted as a French invasion route by Charles II, another a turnpike road built too steep for traffic. At the top sits a well-preserved medieval settlement, and you'll hear about some of the 23 armed robberies that took place on the hill over the years. Capped at 12 people and now full, but it's worth keeping an eye on the listing in case of late cancellations — the Dashwood Arms should be open from midday for lunch either way.
🖼️ Penn House
Where: Penn House, Penn Street, Amersham, HP7 0PS.
When: Friday 18th and Sunday 20th September, tours at 10am and 2pm.
Price: Free, but pre-booking was required — and every slot is now full.
Duration: 45 minutes.
A ground-floor guided tour of Penn House, led personally by Earl and Countess Howe, covering paintings and naval memorabilia. Penn House isn't normally open to the public, which makes this a rare one. Small groups only, with full names and contact details required in advance for every attendee — no late entries were accepted. If you missed booking, it's one to watch for next year, but the site does have full wheelchair access and on-site accessible toilets for anyone who manages to get on a future tour.
🌳 Court Garden and Higginson Park 100
Where: The Seymour Room, Court Garden, Pound Lane, Marlow, SL7 2AG.
When: Thursday 17th September, 10am–4pm.
Price: Free, no booking needed.
An exhibition marking 100 years since Court Garden and Higginson Park in Marlow were saved from housing developers. In 1926, a group of Marlow residents raised funds to stop the riverside estate being sold off for housing — the campaign was run in the name of General George Higginson, a Crimean War veteran who turned 100 that same year. It worked, and the mansion and most of the park have stayed in public hands ever since. The exhibition, put together by the Marlow Society, includes photos going back to the 1940s. Refreshments are available all day from the café behind the adjacent leisure centre, and the car park outside Court Garden is pay-online only.
⛪ Holy Trinity Church, Penn
Where: Holy Trinity Penn, Church Road, Penn, HP10 8NY. When: Sunday 13th September, 2–5pm. Saturday's session has been cancelled.
Price: Free, no booking needed.
Open day at the Grade I listed 12th-century Holy Trinity Church, home to the Penn Doom — a rare 15th-century painting on oak panels. Alongside the Penn Doom, you'll be able to see the church brasses, ancient Penn floor tiles, heraldic roof shields and original consecration crosses, plus the bell tower. There's a strong local connection to motor racing in the early 20th century, and notable graves in the churchyard will be marked. A local historian will be on hand to answer questions, with refreshments available too. Parking is at the Church Hall opposite, with a gravel path across to the church — a disabled toilet is available in the hall.
✝️ Cookham Celebrates: 1,000+ Years of Holy Trinity Church
Where: Holy Trinity Church, Ferry Lane, Cookham on Thames, Maidenhead, SL6 9SN.
When: Saturday 12th (11am–4pm, open day with children's activities), Sunday 13th (2–4pm, stewarded talks at 2pm and 3pm), Saturday 19th (11am–4pm, open day again), and Sunday 20th (10–11.30am special celebratory service, 5.30pm choral evensong).
Price: Free, no booking needed.
A programme of open days, talks and services marking over a thousand years of Holy Trinity Church at the heart of Cookham village. This is the church that shaped Stanley Spencer's vision of heaven on earth, and its story stretches from a rediscovered Saxon monastery — once featured on TV by Sandi Toksvig — through to renovations completed last year. On the open days there'll be brass rubbing, a snakes-and-ladders trail, a bird hunt and a search for Kooky the resident koala for the kids, plus displays on Saxon plant medicine and the medieval spice trade from the Friends of Cookham Abbey. You can walk in via the National Trust car park on the Moor and along the Thames path, or drive round via the Ferry pub (mind the dogleg bend). Refreshments are on from the new servery on both Saturdays.
🏛️ Taplow Court Open Day
Where: Taplow Court, Cliveden Road, Taplow, Maidenhead, SL6 0ER.
When: Sunday 13th September, grounds open 12.30–5pm, house open 2–5pm.
Price: Free, no booking needed.
A rare open day at Taplow Court, a mid-19th-century mansion above the Thames and now the UK headquarters of Buddhist movement Soka Gakkai International. You can picnic across the 85 acres of grounds, and the house itself — not normally open to the public — will be open in the afternoon. Inside, an exhibition called "A Life Dedicated to Peace" marks the life of Daisaku Ikeda, the Buddhist philosopher and peacebuilder who led SGI-UK from Taplow Court since 1989. Cream teas are on from 2pm. One thing to flag: dogs aren't allowed on site at all, except guide and assistance dogs.
🎖️ Commonwealth War Graves Tours: Halton (St Michael) Churchyard
Where: St Michael & All Angels Church, Church View, Halton, Aylesbury, HP22 5PA.
When: Sunday 20th September, 2–3.30pm.
Price: Free, but advance booking is required via the CWGC website.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes.
A guided tour of St Michael & All Angels churchyard in Halton, final resting place of 104 Army, Air Force and Naval casualties from the two World Wars. Halton sits right by RAF Halton, the camp set up just before the First World War that later ran the RAF Apprentice Scheme and, from 1927, the Princess Mary's RAF Hospital. The churchyard holds British, Australian, Canadian, Dutch, French and Polish personnel among its 104 war graves, plus more than 160 military non-war graves. A Commonwealth War Graves Commission guide will walk you through the CWGC's history and the stories behind some of the names on the headstones. There's no dedicated car park, so vehicles need to be left considerately on the nearby roads — meet at the main churchyard gate on the corner of Church View and Halton Village Road. Capped at 16 people, book via cwgc.org.
That's the High Wycombe and Chilterns lineup for Heritage Open Days 2026. For the full national programme, including hundreds more sites across England, head to heritageopendays.org.uk.
For a look back at the previous programme, see our Heritage Open Days 2025 guide. You can also explore the town beyond the festival with our guide to historical sights in High Wycombe.
Enjoyed this article? Share it!
