Circus Skills

Fairground

Seasonal Activities

Circus

Fun Day

Northumberland

Celebrate a classic Great British Summer at Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens, inspired by timeless holiday traditions and a fun day out for the whole family.

Enjoy the fairground activities, pick up new tricks at the circus skills station and dive in to some puppet antics. Kick back in a deck chair with a delicious ice cream and soak up the summer.

Plus, kids can grab a souvenir passport and collect special stamps to complete their summer adventure.

Great British Summer At Belsay Hall, Castle And Gardens

In partnership with the National Garden Scheme, we’re delighted to offer you the chance to explore the beautiful gardens of Brodsworth Hall in the early evening of Thursday 15 July, 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 the way they are presented today reflects their rich history. You can also ask the team your own questions about the gardens as you explore.

Evening Garden Tour At Brodsworth Hall

Audley End is celebrated for its magnificence: beautifully furnished rooms and fine objects, carefully arranged and presented for visitors. Yet above these showpiece interiors lies another, lesser-known world.

Running from May to November 2026, Behind Closed Doors is a new exhibition that offers a rare glimpse into the hidden second-floor rooms, long closed to the public. Once guest bedrooms and servants’ quarters, they now function as store rooms, revealing a quieter side of life within the house.

Through the photographs of Lachlan French and Clive Downes, these interiors evoke a faded splendour, carefully preserved as if a moment frozen in time.

In contrast to the rooms below, they offer a more subtle beauty, shaped by memory, atmosphere, and the traces of lives once lived behind closed doors.

This event is included with general admission. Book in advance to save 15%. Members go free.

Behind Closed Doors:

Enjoy the fresh air, pleasant surroundings, and community spirit of Marble Hill with our weekly Community Walk. The experience is led by our volunteers and is free to attend with no pre-booking requirement.

Meet outside the Coach House Café.

Community Walk At Marble Hill

Join a community of crafters for a weekly knit and natter in the Coach House Cafe at Marble Hill.

We’re a friendly and encouraging group, who work on our own independent projects alongside each other.

Open to all adult ages and abilities.

There is no booking required. For more details please contact chloe.cooke@english-heritage.org.uk

Knitting Group At Marble Hill

Visit our kitchen garden, where we have a selection of fresh produce for sale. All produce is grown by our volunteer kitchen gardeners, and proceeds support our beautiful house and gardens.

Expect to find fresh vegetables, cut flowers, and other seasonal produced.

Our Kitchen Garden is in the northeast corner of the park, by the sports block.

Card payments only.

This event is weather dependant and might be called off in short notice.

If you have any questions, please email our Senior Gardener: Harrison.Hulatt@english-heritage.org.uk

The Kitchen Garden At Marble Hill

Come to Marble Hill on every second Friday of every month, from March - December 2026 and learn about our trees and the work we've done to allow them to thrive.

Our expert volunteer guides will lead you around Marble Hill Park, showing you our magnificent and varied collection of trees.

This is a free tour and no booking is required. Please meet your guide outside the Coach House Café.

Guided Tree Tours At Marble Hill

Enjoy a landscape walk, led by our knowledgeable volunteers. Learn more about Marble Hill's historic landscape and the changes made to it through time.

These tours run every first Friday of the month, all year round.

Please meet outside the front of house at 1pm.

Landscape Tours At Marble Hill

Join us on the first Friday of every month to our board game club in the café with exciting games, including English Heritage Risk, Chess, Snakes and Ladders, and much more.

You can drop in to the cafe at any time over the 2 hours or stay for the whole time, play or attend for the company.

This event is free to attend and there is no booking required.

It does not include admission to Gainsborough Old Hall. If you would like to explore the site as well after your visit, you can purchase general admission in advance online, or on site. Members get free entry.

Board Game Club At Gainsborough Old Hall

Join us for this historic event as the Saffron Walden community celebrates its first ever LGBTQIA+ Pride.

The main gate (Lion gate) of Audley End House and Gardens will open from 4pm on Saturday 6 June, for a Pride Picnic Party event. Gathering on the Marquee Lawn, we will have acoustic performances from local and Cambridge-based LGBTQIA+ musicians, stalls from local businesses, croquet and other lawn games, and food, drinks and ice-creams available to purchase. Guests are welcome to bring picnics and chairs, as well as making use of the picnic tables overlooking the river, house and grounds.

Walden Pride Picnic Party is a family-friendly event, and allies are welcome! The event ends at 8pm.

Pride At Audley End House And Gardens

Join the Friends of Dover Castle for a fascinating journey into wartime Britain as you step back in time to the 1940s.

During the Second World War, the Kitchen Garden at Dover Castle was used to grow food for the garrison to support the war effort. The area and its surrounding green space served as part of the 'Dig for Victory' campaign, cultivating vegetables, fruit and herbs to address food shortages at a pivotal time in the castle’s history.

Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the historic Kitchen Garden, meet a member of the Women’s Land Army as well as see replica wartime weapons, offering a closer look at the equipment and experiences of the era.

The Dig For Victory Garden Open Day

Pevensey Castle was besieged on four occasions during the Middle Ages - on one occasion enduring the longest ever siege of an English castle.

Join us for a one hour (approx) walk of the castle’s grounds will bring the sieges to life by looking at the traces that survive to this day of these remarkable events.

This event has been graded as moderate access. There will be limited places to stop and rest during the walk and may include some uneven terrain and steps.

Please note there are no toilets on site, the closest facilities are at the Car Park nearest the castle, these are not managed by English Heritage.

Bookings for this event will open on this page on Saturday 23 May.

Members' Event:

Cavendish's Horses: The Art of Manege -

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.

Cavendish Horses:

Edward II’s reign could most kindly be described as unorthodox, but many have called it disastrous. He was the first monarch of England to be forced to abdicate his crown, which transpired at Kenilworth Castle in 1327. But how much do you know about him, and the reasons behind his unusual reign?

Join our tour guide as we take you through the once grand inner court exploring the king's infamous rule, LGBTQ+ history, and the rumoured illicit relationships with certain 'favourites' of the court.

This event is graded as moderate access, as the tour involves some walking and may include some stairs or uneven terrain. Part of this tour takes place outside, so please wear suitable footwear and dress appropriately for the weather.

Bookings for this event will open on this page on Saturday 23 May.

Bring history to life with a guided site tour of St Augustine’s Abbey.

Founded in AD 598 by St Augustine himself, this once-great abbey marks the rebirth of Christianity in southern England. Your knowledgeable guide will lead you around the site, helping you imagine what the abbey looked like at its height centuries ago. After the tour, enjoy full access to the site—why not bring a picnic, relax in the grounds, and make a whole day of your visit?

Tour dates 2026:

Saturday 18 April, Thursday 14 May, Monday 8 June, Wednesday 22 July, Monday 10 August, Tuesday 18 August, Saturday 12 September.

These tours are £3 extra on top of your general admission ticket. Members go free. You can book a general admission ticket and a tour ticket below. If there are any spaces left on the day, it will be on a first come first serve basis.

The tours are suitable for ages 10+.

There are uneven grounds, so please wear suitable. Also, this tour is outdoors, so dress for the weather.

Tours At St Augustine's Abbey

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. 

Great British Summer At Belsay Hall, Castle And Gardens

English Heritage

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