Heritage Open Days, 11-20 September

29th July 2026

REDA is delighted to publish the programme for this year’s Heritage Open Days celebrations in Reading.  

The annual free heritage festival, which celebrates the buildings, people and landscapes that have shaped our communities, takes place across England between 11 – 20 September 2026.

Reading’s programme, which is co-ordinated by REDA, has over 30 free events, including walks, talks, guided tours, access behind the scenes, a chance to have a go at something new, trace your own family history or just explore a historic building that you walk past every day. 

This year’s festival has an emphasis on the ordinary lives, working days and small acts that quietly shape the place we call home. Many of the events taking place in Reading as part of Heritage Open Days 2026 will reflect this theme of ‘Everyday Histories’. Highlights include:-

• Join a mini camino walk – find out more about the lives of Reading Abbey monks walking the first 5km of the St James Way
• Go behind the scenes at Royal Berkshire Archives to find out how to use their archives yourself
• Find out what it was like to be a gardener on a landed estate at Caversham Court Garden
• Take a tour of famous architect Alfred Waterhouse’s Foxhill House on the University campus or join a nostalgic student RAG parade walk as part of the University of Reading’s centenary celebrations.
• If you’ve never been to the National Trust’s Basildon Park, then take advantage of their five days of free opening to see what the mansion house and 400 acres of grounds and gardens have to offer
• Hear what is was like to work at Jacksons department store and how it compares to running a modern-day shopping centre at a talk from two distinct retail perspectives.
• Join a walk, talk and other events covering Reading in Roman, Tudor, Georgian and Victorian times.
• Find out more about the everyday lives and culture of Reading’s Ukrainian community, established here since 1959.  
• Or learn how to play the organ. And not just any organ, but the Father Willis organ on the stage at Reading Concert Hall.

Alex Brannen, REDA, said: “From Roman times to Victorian Reading, the stories of Reading are endlessly fascinating and have all shaped the town as we find it today. Heritage Open Days provide the perfect opportunity to find out more about the people and communities that have called Reading home and the amazing buildings that are their legacies. Every event is free to visit and perfect for the curious-minded.”

Details of all the events are available in the Heritage Open Days in Reading programme, online at whatsonreading.com as well as on the national  festival website heritageopendays.org, which has full accessibility, travel and opening details.