How to see 112 attractions in Devon for FREE in September

From 12–21 September 2025, Devon takes part in Heritage Open Days, England’s largest annual festival of history and culture. 

Each September, historic houses, churches, gardens, castles, museums and archives across the country open their doors for free. 

Many of these places are usually closed to the public or charge admission, so this is a rare opportunity to step inside. 

Devon has one of the biggest programmes in the country, with more than 112 in-person events.

Here’s the full list, divided by region (you can click on the menu to skip straight to the region that interests you most!).

I would recommend reserving your spot on any that catch your eye ASAP.

Exeter & East Devon

• A la Ronde, Exmouth – Multiple dates. 16-sided house built 1796, Grand Tour mementoes.
• AudaTours Exeter Audio Tour: Everyday Histories – Available anytime. Self-guided audio tour.
• Bats about Bats at Blackbury Camp, Colyton – 11 Sept. Bat detecting walk.
• Britannia Making Waves, Exeter – 12 Sept. Open ship, boatbuilding demos.
• Everyday Histories – Policing the Past via the Exeter Archives – 16 Sept.
• Everyday Histories: Discover the Devon and Exeter Institution – Multiple dates.
• Exeter Blitz – Multiple dates. Red Coat guided tour.
• Exeter Community Centre and St David’s Walking Tour – Multiple dates.
• Exeter Herstories – Walking with Women through Time – 12 Sept.
• Exeter Historic Guildhall – Multiple dates.
• Exeter Pre-Prep School, Exminster – 13 Sept. Victorian Gothic chapel, self-guided.
• Exeter’s Underground Passages – Multiple dates.
• Fursdon House, Garden & Tearoom, Cadbury – Multiple dates.
• Guided Walk of the Historic Port of Topsham – 17 Sept.
• Living with Books: Everyday Reading at Powderham – 19 Sept.
• Markets, Merchants & Mariners, Exeter – Multiple dates.
• National Trust – Killerton – Multiple dates (plus ‘The Laundry Week’ and Columbjohn Chapel).
• Newton St Cyres Parish Hall: The Centenary Celebration – 19 Sept.
• Old St Leonard’s Hall, Exeter – 19 Sept. Angle changed – now about low-carbon heritage building.
• Plague, Pillage and Perils at Sea!, East Budleigh – Multiple dates.
• St Clements Church, Powderham – Multiple dates.
• St Nicholas Priory – Restoring a Medieval Priory – Multiple dates.
• St Mary the Virgin, Poltimore – Multiple dates.
• St Sidwell’s – Sidwell Street Heritage Walk – 11 Sept.
• Tuckers Hall, Exeter – Multiple dates.
• Working People’s Lives in the Parish of St Martins – Multiple dates.
• Writers Around Exeter – 13 Sept.

Click here to book any of these.

Mid Devon

• Bampton Open Tower – 20 Sept.
• From Hearth To Highstreet, Bampton – Multiple dates.
• Eggesford: All Saints Church, Eggesford Barton, Eggesford Garden (group opening) – 20 Sept.
• Grantlands, Uffculme – 12 Sept.
• Hemyock Castle – 13 Sept (plus Hemyock on film, online, same date).
• John Greenway Chapel, Tiverton – 17 Sept.
• Knightshayes Court, Tiverton – 12 Sept.
• Old Blundell’s, Tiverton – 19 Sept.
• Spiceland Quaker Meeting House, Uffculme – 13 Sept.
• St Mary’s Church, Hemyock – 13 Sept.
• St Peter’s Church and Tower, Tiverton – 12 Sept.
• Stableyard Stories: Silverton Park Stables – Multiple dates.

Click here to book any of these.

North Devon

• Arlington Court, Barnstaple – Multiple dates.
• Bideford Railway Heritage Centre Open Days – Multiple dates.
• Bridgeland Street Heritage Day – Lavington United Reformed Church, Bideford – 17 Sept.
• Exhibition: Ship Building and Repair, Bideford – Multiple dates.
• Launch Ship Yard Trail, Bideford – 19 Sept.
• Lifeboat Jane Hannah MacDonald Restoration Site Visit, Bideford – 15 Sept.
• St James Church, Swimbridge – 12 Sept.
• St Paul’s Church, Landkey – 12 Sept.
• Steamship Freshspring Open Day, Bideford – Multiple dates.
• Talk: Dr William Ackland, a 19th-century Bideford doctor – 17 Sept.
• Working on the Railway – Tarka Valley Railway, Torrington – 17 Sept.

Click here to book any of these.

South Devon

• ‘Back to School’ at The Mansion, Totnes – 19 Sept.
• Backstage Pass – Tour the Alexandra Theatre, Newton Abbot – Multiple dates (17 & 18 Sept).
• Bringing the Music of the Past to Life, Totnes – 19 Sept.
• Coleton Fishacre – Multiple dates. Centenary line can stay as-is.
• Dartington Day of Dance, Totnes – 12 Sept.
• Edward Seymour – Berry Pomeroy Castle, Totnes – 16 Sept.
• Everyday Histories and Local Authors, Totnes Museum – Multiple dates.
• Experimental Archaeology: Prehistoric Shell Jewellery Making, Totnes – 19 Sept.
• Greenway, Brixham – Multiple dates.
• Kirkham House, Paignton – Multiple dates (19-20 Sept).
• Newton Abbot Museum – Tower Tour (19 Sept) and Quest (multiple dates).
• St Lawrence Chapel Heritage Centre, Newton Abbot – Multiple dates.
• Tales from a Devon Kitchen, Torquay Museum – 16 Sept.
• Tales from the Grave, Teignmouth Old Cemetery – Multiple dates.
• Totnes Castle Open Day – 19 Sept.
• Totnes Image Bank – Free Workshops – 19 Sept.
• Totnes Trust – Explore the Town Mill – 19 Sept.
• Trail of Trades, Torquay Museum – 19 Sept.

Click here to book any of these.

Dartmoor

• ‘Ruins and Monuments’, Tavistock – Multiple dates.
• “Earldorman, Lord and Queen”, Tavistock Heritage Centre – 11 Sept.
• “Where demons fear to tread”, Tavistock – 12 Sept.
• A Pair of Shoes for a Poor Child, Tavistock – 15 Sept.
• Bannawell: A guided walk through the street that made Tavistock – 16 Sept.
• Building a Castle, Okehampton Castle – 19 Sept.
• Castle Drogo, Drewsteignton – 17 Sept (plus Hydro Turbine Open Day, 20 Sept).
• Characters from Tavistock’s past – Tavistock Players LIVE – 19 Sept.
• Churchyard Stories at St Michael and All Angels, Princetown – 13 Sept.
• Dartmoor Prison Museum – Prisoner of War Cemetery Tour, Princetown – 13 Sept.
• Everyday Histories – Policing the Past, Okehampton – Multiple dates.
• Exhibition Open Day at Providence Chapel, Throwleigh – 12 Sept.
• Finch Foundry, Sticklepath – 12 Sept.
• God’s Work: Music from Haydn’s The Creation, Tavistock – 20 Sept. Festival closing event.
• Local Lifestyles and the need for a castle, Okehampton – 16 Sept.
• Lydford Gorge – Multiple dates.
• Lydford Law and Parliamentary Privilege – 17 Sept.
• Mount Kelly School, Tavistock – Multiple dates.
• Museum of Policing in Devon & Cornwall Open Day, Tavistock – Multiple dates.
• Plymouth Road Cemetery, Tavistock – 13 Sept.
• Rediscovering Tavistock Abbey: From Abbey to Guildhall – 17 Sept.
• Sausages, Cider & Steam – Open Day, Tavistock – Multiple dates.
• St Eustachius Parish Church Tours, Tavistock – Multiple dates.
• Tavistock Catholic Church – Multiple dates.
• Tavistock Centre Burial Grounds – 15 Sept.
• Tavistock Guildhall Talk: Temptress, Murderess, Mother and Patron (Ælfthryth) – 12 Sept.
• Tavistock Museum – fun activities for children – Multiple dates.
• Tavistock Subscription Library – Multiple dates.
• The Fair Arm of the Law – Simon Dell – 18 Sept.
• The Superintendents Letters, Tavistock – 20 Sept.
• Working Life in Tavistock Through the Ages – FAMILY FUN DAY – 19 Sept.

Click here to book any of these.

Plymouth & West Devon

• A tour of Grade 1 Listed Mothecombe House – 16 Sept.
• Book Promotion – Who are the Three Witches?, Plymouth Proprietary Library – 19 Sept.
• Our Land Flows…from Peat to Pipe, Plymouth – 16 Sept.
• Rare Book Display, Plymouth Proprietary Library – 19 Sept.
• Saltram, Plymouth – Multiple dates.
• Stoke Damerel Parish Church, Devonport – 19 Sept.
• Visit Buckland Abbey for free, Yelverton – Multiple dates.

Click here to book any of these.