Cheltenham Heritage Open Days will go ahead next month!

Heritage Open Days, England's largest grass roots heritage festival involving over 40,000 volunteers and 5,000 events, will be held throughout England including our Regency town Cheltenham, from 11 - 20 September 2020. 

The dedicated volunteers who run this annual free event have once again put together a wonderful programme to showcase our towns heritage and history. With the current situation they have had to work especially hard this year to ensure that all visits and walks can take place with social distancing measures in place.

Before we share the programme for this year, here is a little video to remind you of the highlights from Cheltenham Heritage Open Days 2019...

Cheltenham Heritage Open Days 2020 - What visitors and locals can expect!

Chairman, Andrew Booton, of Cheltenham Civic Society, says:

 “It would be quite an understatement to say that 2020 is not working out quite as we envisaged! Adversity or disruption, however, often lead to innovation and inspiration. That is where Cheltenham finds itself for Heritage Open Days 2020. Covid-19 has compelled us to rethink our traditional formats and find ways to enable access to our world class venues while protecting visitors and volunteers alike.”

NEW for this year will be some FREE digital events which you can sign up for via the Cheltenham Civic Society website featuring - 

Cheltenham Croquet Club              

Cheltenham Ladies’ College

Cheltenham Playhouse

A Cheltenham Scrapbook

Cheltenham Synagogue

Hidden Lives: Botanists, Buildings and Bankruptcy

Parmoor House & Lypiatt Terrace

Pate’s Grammar School’s 20^th Century Stained Glass Window

Pilley Bridge Nature Reserve

St Christopher’s Church

St Luke’s Church

There will also be a talk featuring War Widows and The Whishes at Christ Church which must be pre-booked and several walks taking in different areas and topics of interest in Cheltenham including... 

Gustav Holst’s Cheltenham

Skillicorne to Skillicorne

The Making of the Honeybourne Line

Regency Cheltenham

Spas, Squabbles and Slave-owners

Cheltenham Backwaters – Exploring the River Chelt

Trees in Montpellier Gardens

Naunton Park – Cheltenham’s ‘Garden of Eden’

Booze, Balloons and Burials

Although the talk and walks are free, tickets must be pre-booked and collected from The Suffolk Anthology. Please note - Strict maximum capacities are in place to allow for social distancing. 

Everything you need to know about Cheltenham Heritage Open Days 2020

When: Heritage Open Days 11-20 September 2020; brochure now available and bookings for walks and talks are open. 

Where: Bookings for walk and talks must be made at The Suffolk Anthology, 17 Suffolk Parade, Cheltenham GL50 2AE. Mon-Sat 9.30am-4pm.

Who: Co-ordinated by Cheltenham Civic Society - a charity which aims to help Cheltenham to be a great place to live and to visit. It concentrates on the built environment of the town, including the condition of the streets and highways. Cheltenham Borough Council provides most of the funding.

Websites: The national Heritage Open Days 2020 website heritageopendays.org.uk and Cheltenham Civic Society website with downloadable event PDF brochure cheltenhamcivicsociety.org.uk

Please note: Printed brochures have also been distributed around town and will be found in the tourist infomation literature stands owned by Glide Media.