People's History Museum, The Museum of Transport and Wigan Athletic are among local highlights this September...
Heritage Open Days returns this September, with a programme of free events taking place across Greater Manchester and the wider North West.
Running from 11 to 20 September, the annual festival will open up historic buildings, museums and other notable sites, alongside talks, tours and activities exploring local history. Over 150 of which are here in Greater Manchester and the wider North West region.
Among this year’s Greater Manchester highlights is People’s History Museum, which will host a special event with family history website Findmypast as part of the festival’s 2026 theme, Everyday Histories.
Visitors will be invited to explore their own family histories, using records and newspaper archives to discover stories connected to working lives, migration, activism and social change.
Over in Wigan, football fans will be able to explore Wigan Athletic’s Heritage Museum, which charts the club’s history from its formation in 1932 and its former Springfield Park home through to its FA Cup win and more recent years.
The event will also give visitors the chance to pick up free tickets to a Wigan Athletic match.
Cheetham Hill’s Museum of Transport – a grade-II listed building, one of Manchester’s first bus garages – will be free to explore over a couple of weekends.
Lyme Park in Cheshire is also among the major North West attractions taking part in this year’s festival, which includes free access to sites and events that would usually charge admission.
More than 6,200 events are taking place across England in total, making 2026 the largest Heritage Open Days programme since the festival began in 1994.
Other notable events in Greater Manchester include free open days at Pankhurst Museum, where you can explore the museum and the historic parlour where the first meeting of the WSPU took place.
Annie Reilly, the National Trust’s Audience & Engagement Director, said: “England’s largest festival of history and culture is back. Heritage Open Days opens the door to thousands of extraordinary stories, places and experiences on your doorstep.”
Heritage Open Days takes place from 11 to 20 September 2026, with every event free to attend, although some require advance booking.
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