Essex

Uttlesford

Celebrate our partnership with Laithwaites and enjoy a 60-minute tutored wine tasting at Audley End House and Gardens. Savour a flight of superb wines – including English Heritage sparkling wine from Sussex – and discover the unique story behind each one. This is a rare opportunity to immerse yourself in the history and splendour of our sites, glass in hand. All ticket proceeds go to English Heritage, who care for over a million objects and hundreds of historic sites across England.

Over 18s only. Members can get 25% off the price for this event. Just enter the code EHTASTING at the checkout. You will need to take proof of a valid membership to the event, otherwise you will be asked to pay the remaining difference. 

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Wine Tasting With Laithwaites - Audley End House And Gardens

Join one of our volunteer photographers for a guided walk around the Elizabethan gardens at Kenilworth Castle. On this tour you will discover the best places to take splendid photos of the recreated gardens. Initially designed by Robert Dudley for the visit of Queen Elizabeth I in 1575, the garden is bursting with beautiful plants to capture. Light refreshments will be served at the end of this event in the Stable tea rooms.

Don't worry, no specialist equipment needed! Learn how to make the most of your phone or digital camera and discover more about the gardens along the way.

This event is graded as moderate access as it is a walking tour which covers uneven terrain and steps with limited places to stop and rest. Please note, this is an outdoor event which will continue in light rain so please consider the photography equipment you bring with you.

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Members' Event:

Chatty Café

First Friday of every month from Friday 4th April - 10am-11.30am.

Join us on the first Friday every month from 10.00-11.30am for a chat and a cuppa. There will always be a volunteer on hand so a chat is guaranteed and there is a free cup of tea as well.

Gainsborough Old Hall has been at the heart of the town’s community for hundreds of years and is the perfect meeting place for locals and visitors alike.

Sometimes the best connections are made over a cup of tea and our Chatty Café days are the perfect way to bring people together.

Memory Café

The first Friday of April and May will be extra special Chatty Café days. We’d love to hear your stories about Gainsborough Old Hall and by sharing them you’ll help us keep history alive for future generations.

Our oral history volunteers will be in the café to hear your memories and share your experience of our wonderful building. Whether it’s how you relatives worked or even lived in the hall or how you attended classes there in the 1980s, were looking to find out more and document memories for future generations.

We’ll have some pictures from the hall’s history in display to help us recollect. Your memories matter and we want to hear them!

Chatty Café At Gainsborough Old Hall

Join us for a behind the scenes tour of Helmsley Archaeology store!

Tours will be held: 

Friday 4th April – 11:30 & 13:30

Friday 2nd May – 11:30 & 13:30

Friday 6th June - 11:30 & 13:30

Friday 4th July - 11:30 & 13:30

Friday 1st August - 11:30 & 13:30

Friday 19th September - 11:30 & 13:30 – Heritage Open day specials

Saturday 20th September – 10:00 & 11:30 – Heritage Open day specials

Friday 3rd October - 11:30 & 13:30

Guided by members of the collections team, these tours will explore how we look after and care for our collections, our current projects and highlight some of our favourite finds from across the North territory.

To book your place, please email the collections team on Helmsley.Stores@english-heritage.org.uk.

Please specify a date and include a list of all attendees in your email. Tours are free but contributions welcomed. Bookings will be made on a first come, first serve basis.

While tours are free, a £5 per person donation is suggested.

Helmsley Archaeology Store Tours

Enjoy a landscape walk, led by our knowledgeable volunteer! Learn more about Marble Hill's historic landscape and changes made through time. Please meet outside front of house at 1pm.

  Free Tour, just come along!

Landscape Walk

Join us for the second edition of our Cactus Fair - with even more stalls from specialist nurseries for some rare succulents!

Cactus Fair

Start the weekend energised with a spot of Community Yoga amongst the backdrop of Marble Hill and it's surroundings! Community based event, meet on the Oval Lawn (Behind House towards River) at 8am.

Community Yoga

Guided forest bathing walks are a great way to look after your physical and mental well-being. Scientific studies have shown that forest bathing can help reduce blood pressure, boost the immune system, improve concentration and support anxiety and depression.

During your guided forest bathing walk with Deep in Nature you will be led on a slow-paced and gentle walk through our woodland landscape and invited to try various activities designed to help relaxation and to boost your mental and physical health.

You will leave the walk with tips and activities to practice on your own.  No prior experience or fitness is necessary.  

Adult walks are open to those aged 16+. We regret that we cannot welcome dogs on the forest bathing walks except for assistance animals.  Please note that admission charges apply for non-members. 

Saturday 22 March 2025, 10:30

Wednesday 23 April 2025, 10:30 - Awakening Nature – Step into the gentle embrace of Spring, where fresh buds, birdsong, and soft sunlight signal nature’s renewal.

Wednesday 21 May, 10.30 - Blossom Bliss – Immerse yourself in a fragrant wonderland of blooming trees and flowers, embracing the fullness of spring.

Sunday 22 June, 10.30 - Sunlit Serenity – Bask in the golden glow of early summer, where dappled sunlight and lush greenery create a haven of peace.

Saturday 19 July, 10.30 - Canopy Calm – Step into the heart of summer and lose yourself in the cool embrace of ancient trees and whispering leaves.

Saturday 16 August, 10.30 - Nature in Full Song – Experience the height of summer with buzzing bees, rustling foliage, and birdsong filling the air.

Sunday 21 September, 10.30 - Ember Leaves – Wander through a landscape brushed with soft ambers and mellow oranges, embracing the warmth of autumn’s first touch.

Sunday 19 October, 10.30 - Reflections in Gold – Stroll through a tapestry of autumn colour, listening to the crunch of fallen leaves and embracing a moment of quiet reflection in nature’s fading glow.

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Wrest Park Forest Bathing

Witness expert horsemen in flamboyant 17th century costume, training for art and battle to baroque music in the spectacular surroundings of the Riding School at Bolsover Castle. Behold breath-taking displays of horses in training as they refine the methods created by one of the great equestrian masters, William Cavendish.

Expert in historic horsemanship Dominic Sewell and his Historic Equitation team will reveal more about the famous training techniques of Cavendish and their majestic horses will demonstrate traditional moves and skills of the time. Suitable for all, perfect for those with an appreciation of skilled horsemanship and an interest in the history of riding as an art form. Please note that photography and filming is prohibited during the displays.

Online tickets will be available soon.

Cavendish Horses:

A geophysical survey was undertaken in 2019 within the outer bailey of Pevensey Castle, which located a plethora of new features which illustrate the Medieval arrangement of internal space. Further surveys were undertaken to attempt to get to the original ground surface and locate further structures which were known from small excavations within the castle interior.

This talk and tour will present the results of the past excavations and surveys, as well as providing an insight to the communities who may have inhabited the site. The conclusion will seek to lay out what further work can be done to place the fort and castle within a firmer local, regional, and international context.

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Join us as the Saffron Walden community proudly hosts its a LGBTQIA+ Pride event at the stunning Audley End House & Gardens.

Bring your picnic blankets, your friends and family for an afternoon of love, music, and community in one of the most beautiful settings in Essex.

Enjoy:

Acoustic sets from amazing local LGBTQIA+ artists

Stalls from local friendly businesses

Croquet on the lawn

Food, drinks, and ice-cream available to buy

Picnics welcome – grab a spot with a view of the river, house and grounds

This is a family-friendly event, and allies are warmly welcomed. Let’s come together, show our Pride, and make history. Heritage is for everybody. 

See you there!

The main gates will open at 4pm for the event. Tickets are free but must be pre-booked. The event ends at 8pm.

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Saffron Walden Pride At Audley End

Join Blue Badge Guide Sarah Milne-Day for a tour of the famous resort town of Scarborough. See the most iconic sights and hear the history of the church of Anne Brontë, Scarborough Castle and more.

This event is graded as challenging access, as it involves walking for two hours with few places to stop and rest, as well as steep hills to navigate.

English Heritage in partnership with the National Garden Scheme is delighted to be offering you the chance to experience the beautiful gardens of Belsay Hall in the early evening when the site is closed to the public.

Meet the Head Gardener and members of their team for a tour of the gardens. Get an insight into how the team develop and enhance these wonderful spaces, carefully managed to ensure how they are presented today reflects their rich history.

You will have the opportunity to ask questions of the team as you experience the gardens at this very special event.

Tickets available soon.

Proceeds from the event will go to fund nursing and health charities through the National Garden Scheme, which raises millions of pounds per year for organisations like Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, and Hospice UK. Find out more, and discover other special garden visits near you, on the National Garden Scheme website.

Exclusive Evening Garden Tour At Belsay Hall

The tour will take in the fascinating experiments Charles Darwin undertook to test his theory of Evolution by means of Natural Selection, in the beautiful surroundings of his country house garden. People will explore Darwin's ‘Living Landscape Laboratory’, a celebrated and unique fascinating natural environment in which Darwin tested his theories. We will celebrate the biodiversity here, something Victorian society would have taken for granted. The tour will explore specific conservation projects initiated by English Heritage to restore species lost since the Darwins lived at Down. We will include the role Emma Darwin had in developing the gardens including the ornamental borders and Mingled Border and the Walled Garden with its fruits and vegetables which fed the large Darwin family and their staff. In the glasshouse visitors will see a wide range of tropical orchids, climbing plants and carnivorous plant which Darwin used in his botanical research.

Afterwards visitors will have the opportunity to following in Darwin’s footsteps by walking his famous ‘Thinking Path’, and come away with a renewed sense of optimism regarding conservation and the environment.

This tour has been graded as moderate access due to uneven surfaces through the garden and few places to sit down.

Liverpool's Hope Street was recognised as the UK's Street of the Year in 2012. Join Tour Guide John McFerran for a tour of a street full of eclectic architecture, with a mix of Classical, Georgian, Art Deco and Brutalistic styles. The street (and this tour) begins at Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral, affectionately known as 'Paddy's Wigwam'.

This tour is graded as moderate access as it is a walking tour covering up to two hours with few places to stop and sit down.

Join a member of the gardens team to learn about the recently restored 18th Century gardens at Marble Hill. Learn about the restoration, how the gardens are maintained and what we're doing to promote biodiversity.  Meet outside the house, on the Richmond Road side. No dogs allowed.

  Free Event, no need to book!

Big Green Week:

Join a member of the gardens team to learn about the newly created meadows at Marble Hill. Find out how these meadow were created, how they're being maintained and why they are so important to biodiversity.

Meet outside the house, on the Richmond Road side. No dogs allowed.

English Heritage in partnership with the National Garden Scheme is delighted to be offering you the chance to experience the beautiful gardens of Audley End in the early evening when the site is closed to the public.

Meet the Head Gardener and members of their team for a tour of the gardens. Get an insight into how the team develop and enhance these wonderful spaces, carefully managed to ensure how they are presented today reflects their rich history.

You will have the opportunity to ask questions of the team as you experience the gardens at this very special event.

Tickets available soon.

Proceeds from the event will go to fund nursing and health charities through the National Garden Scheme, which raises millions of pounds per year for organisations like Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, and Hospice UK. Find out more, and discover other special garden visits near you, on the National Garden Scheme website.

Your ticket is only for entry to the event. Members get a discount on the ticket price. You’ll need to book using the link above. Please bring your booking confirmation with you on the day.

Exclusive Evening Garden Tour At Audley End House And Gardens

English Heritage

English Heritage cares for over 400 historic buildings, monuments and sites - from world-famous prehistoric sites to grand medieval castles, from Roman forts on the edges of the empire to a Cold War bunker. 

Through these, we bring the story of England to life for over 10 million people each year. 

Wine Tasting With Laithwaites - Audley End House And Gardens

English Heritage

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