Travel & Tourism

You can visit hundreds of historic sites across Greater Manchester for FREE this month

Here are 10 local highlights

Lydia Mastrolonardo Lydia Mastrolonardo - 4th September 2026

Heritage Open Day is back in Greater Manchester this September, with its biggest festival ever and more than 6,200 free day trips to choose from. 

Organised by the National Trust and Postcode Lottery, these events allow millions of people across the country come together each autumn, to celebrate community, history and you guessed it – heritage.

Thousands of organisations and amazing volunteers across England will be taking part, to deliver outings between the 11 – 20 September, allowing the public to experience new opportunities that they may not otherwise have access to. 

What’s more is it’s all completely free. 

The festival focuses on celebrating differences and heritage both past and present, encouraging discussion on what it represents today, with 83% of attendees last year saying that their visit increased their pride in their local area.

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Annie Reilly, the National Trust’s Audience & Engagement Director, said: “Heritage Open Days opens the door to thousands of extraordinary stories, places and experiences on your doorstep.

“By inspiring curiosity today, the festival helps build a stronger sense of connection, care and action for the future.”

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But with so many events to choose from, it can get a little overwhelming to plan your day out – so in no particular order, here are 10 brilliant free experiences in the Heritage Open Days list in Greater Manchester.

1. Pankhurst Museum (AKA The Pankhurst Centre), Ardwick

The Pankhurst Museum will open its doors for free over the Heritage Open Days. Credit: Supplied
The Pankhurst Museum will open its doors for free over the Heritage Open Days. Credit: Supplied Pictured The Pankhurst Centre building in the NHS grounds

This September, you can enter the very home of Emmeline Pankhurst, and explore the parlour where she began the Women’s Social & Political Union (the Suffragette Movement). 

This iconic building, central to feminist activism where history was made, is located inside the hospital grounds of our very own Manchester Royal Infirmary. Here you can learn of Pankhurst’s family, the movement itself, experiment with chalk graffiti in the garden and even have a drink in the tearoom.

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The museum will be free to the public from 11-4pm on Sunday 13 September and Sunday 20 September to celebrate, as part of this year’s festival.

Click HERE to get your tickets.

2. Garrick Theatre, Stockport

Now’s your chance to have a nosey behind the scenes, inside that super old theatre on the A6, which has probably gone fairly unnoticed until its recent exciting, VERY orange makeover. 

As part of Heritage Open Days, the theatre is celebrating its 125th birthday by opening its doors and offering a rare guided backstage tour to visitors, along with a historical presentation and the opportunity for photos.

This tour is available on Saturday 12 September, on the half hour, between 10.30am-12pm and 1.30pm-3pm.

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It’s important to note that due to the theatre being inside an old mill, with many stairs across multiple levels, it is sadly not wheelchair or pushchair accessible.

Pre-booking is not required.

3. Museum of Transport, Cheetham Hill

Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester
Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester

Fancy a ride on a retro bus? Look no further.

Head on over to this historic Grade II-listed garage, where you can find a collection of more than 80 vintage vehicles including buses, coaches, trams and fire engines

Not only is it home to every kind of bus and tram you could imagine, along with copious amounts of transport related memorabilia but they also have a traditional tea room and museum shop that completely transport you back in time. 

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As part of the festival, the museum will be organising rides for visitors to travel in style, on some of the historic vehicles from their collection.

Visit on Saturday 12, Sunday 13, Saturday 19 or Sunday 20 September, between 10am-4.30pm, to get in for free. 

4. The Station Agent’s House, Castlefield

The Station Agent’s House, Castlefield
The Station Agent’s House, Castlefield

Calling all train and interior design enthusiasts.

Forget stalking Rightmove for posh houses – for one weekend only, you can nosey around for free, inside this restored globally historic 19th century house. 

This isn’t just any magnificent looking house – no, the site itself is in fact the world’s oldest surviving passenger railway station, where Liverpool Road Station was first developed.

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This very building became home to the first Station Agent, as well as being where the introduction of railway waiting rooms, signals, and tickets began.

Visit across Saturday 12 – Sunday 13 September, between 10-4pm.

While not essential, priority will be given to those that have prebooked, to manage capacity.

5. Rochdale Town Centre: A Heritage Photo Walk, with Ellie Waters

Rochdale Town Hall
Rochdale Town Hall
The Exchange will be used as the main entrance for Rochdale Town Hall
Rochdale Town Hall

Think you know your local area? I bet you missed some of these.

You may have once considered yourself observant but think again – test your knowledge and go for a trip down memory lane with Ellie Waters.

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Ellie is set to lead a guided tour, through visual storytelling, amongst the various landmarks within Rochdale town centre.

This experience allows you to see your local history materialise through photographs of the exact areas you visit – some of which you may have walked past a million times without noting their significance.

You must book a slot for this free experience taking place on Saturday 12 September, 11am-1pm. Click HERE for tickets.

6. Wigan Athletic Heritage Museum – with free match tickets

Head on over to Wigan Athletic Heritage Museum to celebrate the beautiful game, swat up on your local team’s history, and be in with a chance of winning some exclusive prizes.

Not only is the museum bursting with memorabilia and steeped in rich football history, but by attending you also gain access to free tickets to the League One fixture, to see Wigan Athletic host visitors Wycombe Wanderers. 

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You’re in for an afternoon full of footy – the museum is open 1-2.30pm, followed by kick off at 3pm, Saturday 19 September.

You must register HERE to gain your free digital tickets.

7. Rubbish to Resource – see your recycling in action, Sharston

I think we could all do with learning how to be a bit more green, following this past summer of extreme heatwaves and crazy storms.

Over at the Longley Lane recycling facility, you’re able to gain behind the scenes access to find out what actually happens when we recycle here in Greater Manchester.

The tour will include some indoor interactive activities debunking any recycling myths, along with plenty of time to ask questions to properly understand the importance of looking after our planet. 

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Tours are available Wednesday 16 September 2.15-4.30pm and 6-8.30pm, as well as Saturday 19 September 10-12.30pm.

You must book tickets HERE and all children must be 7+ to enter, with all under 18s accompanied by an adult. 

8. Withington Baths Heritage Tour 

Go and have a gander behind the scenes at Manchester’s last working Edwardian heritage pool.

This community-run building dating back to 1911, is bursting with history, from the stunning roof to the stained-glass windows – this isn’t your regular swimming baths.

Head on down Saturday 12 or Sunday 13 September – the tour will run from 2-3pm.

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This experience is for ages 12+ and all under 16s must be joined by an adult.

Book your free tickets HERE.

9. Northenden Bells and Other Heritage Milestones

Over in Northernden is St Wilfred’s church, some 18th century church bells have been in use for the past 275 years – and now’s your chance to hear them too.

During the Heritage Open Days festival, you are invited to celebrate the area’s milestones by attending one of many events including a bell-ringing performance and a cheese and wine event, as well as talks run by local historians on Northenden’s history.

Between Saturday 12 and Saturday 19 September, there are a range of sessions available. 

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No booking needed, except for the bell ringing demonstrations on Saturday 12 September. 

10. East Lancashire Railway, Bury

Legends of Steam

Don’t miss your chance to explore unseen areas of the Castlecroft Sheds, where historic locomotives are stored and cared for by a team of volunteers.

This action-packed tour allows visitors to gain an insight into the craftsmanship, care and skill needed to successfully restore these wonderful vehicles.

Each immersive tour also grants you access to a full-line return train journey, starting at Bury Bolton Street Station and will include a two mile walk, so ensure you are wearing suitable footwear. 

This is a 16+ event, with tours running, Sunday 13 and Sunday 20 September between 1-2pm.

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Final call for all remaining passengers – tickets must be prebooked HERE, but don’t hang about – tickets are limited.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Travel & Tourism

New £60m fund launched to fill potholes across Greater Manchester

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

A new £60 million Pothole Fund has been created to repair more of the city region’s roads and pavements.

The fund – which has been set up by new Mayor Bev Craig, and is to be spent across every borough in Greater Manchester – is set to be a ‘major boost’ to efforts to tackle the pothole problem, as it will be enough to repair and maintain over a million square metres, or around 125 kilometres, of road across the wider region.

Around 2.5 billion trips are made on Greater Manchester‘s roads every year – not only by motorists, but also by buses, trams, cyclists, and pedestrians. So the fund will be used to help keep the highways network ‘safe and reliable’.

The fund will enable transport teams to repair hotspots where surfaces are in poor condition, as well as resurface roads and pavements to prevent them from deteriorating in the first place.

A new £60m fund has been launched to fill potholes across Greater Manchester / Credit: TfGM

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) conceded that damaged highways are a ‘common’ but ‘frustrating’ issue affecting drivers across the country, as well as being hazardous for people walking, cycling or wheeling.

Cold and wet winters, more traffic, and heavier vehicles using the roads are just some of the contributing factors to the pothole problem, which is why the fund is being introduced before autumn and winter properly arrives.

The amount each of the 10 boroughs will receive is based on an agreed funding formula, with the allocations being:

  • Bolton: £6,552,000
  • Bury: £4,374,000
  • Manchester: £8,155,000
  • Oldham: £5,258,000
  • Rochdale: £5,243,000
  • Salford: £5,388,000
  • Stockport: £6,820,000
  • Tameside: £4,980,000
  • Trafford: £4,992,000
  • Wigan: £8,241,000

The extra cash comes from the region’s transport budget, with leaders agreeing to reallocate funding towards highways maintenance, and it fulfils a commitment Bev made in her Mayoral Manifesto to repair more roads and make sure pavements are safe.

“Keeping our roads and pavements safe and well maintained is essential for a growing city region like Greater Manchester,” explained Mayor Bev Craig.

“That’s why I promised to create this new Pothole Fund that will benefit drivers and everyone who uses our roads to get around. Properly maintaining our roads will save motorists money on costly repairs, and by preventing potholes forming in the first place, councils won’t have to spend as much money on emergency road repairs.

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“This issue came up repeatedly on the doorstep during my election campaign so I’m pleased that I can do something about it so quickly, building on the significant work already planned by councils across Greater Manchester.”

Featured Image – TfGM

Travel & Tourism

The family-run gem doing tapas, craft beer, cocktails and live music just outside Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Katie Jackson outside Gin & Brews

A good neighbourhood restaurant should be somewhere you can pop in to at any time of day, for just about any occasion. 

Whether it’s coffee and a bake after the school run, a tapas night with your mates, a cosy cocktail with your partner, or even somewhere to end the night listening to live music, Gin & Brews is one such neighbourhood gem.

This brilliant family-run venue opened in an old bank in Garstang in 2023 and quickly spilled over into the unit next door, expanding its offering as it went. 

It’s gone from a cosy bottle shop and microbar to a true neighbourhood haunt, with fantastic deals (like two pizzas and a bottle of wine for £25 on Thursdays) and cocktails made with their own distilled spirits. 

The food is a big part of the appeal, particularly the tapas.

There’s bread and oils, chorizo and prawns, goat’s cheese and loaded potatoes, with plenty designed for sharing – you might want to order more than you think you need, but at £12 for three dishes, that’s no hardship.

You can get three tapas dishes for £12
You can get three tapas dishes for £12
Lemon curd French toast
Lemon curd French toast

Then there’s the homemade honey and sea salt butter. It’s the sort of butter you try once and immediately want to tell everyone about. 

For daytime visits, the brunch menu brings out perfectly poppable eggs and seriously good French toast, with the lemon curd a particular must-try.

And if you have dietary requirements, Gin & Brews is unusually well set up for gluten-free diners, with almost everything on the menu gluten free – even the beer – plus a generous selection of gluten-free bakes.

The drinks offering is where things get particularly interesting.

The team make their own spirits under the Garstang Gin name, with the distillery growing from just three spirits to an impressive 46.

It’s a natural progression for the owner, who previously worked in the drinks industry before leaving to set up her own gin distillery.

They distill their own Garstang Gin spirits for cocktails
They distill their own Garstang Gin spirits for cocktails
Inside Gin & Brews
Inside Gin & Brews

Those spirits now make their way into the cocktails at Gin & Brews, giving the bar plenty of its own character and making it a particularly good shout if cocktails are your thing.

There’s also a constantly changing selection of craft beer, with the range switching up regularly, alongside the bottle shop, so there’s always something new to discover.

For somewhere that has grown so quickly, Gin & Brews still feels firmly rooted in its community.

Much of what goes onto your plate is sourced from businesses on the high street, including local butchers and egg suppliers. Even some of the cakes and cookies are made by one of the members of staff.

It feels fitting for a venue in Garstang, which is recognised as the world’s first Fair Trade Town.

Bakes at Gin & Brews are made by a member of staff
Bakes at Gin & Brews are made by a member of staff
Bakes at Gin & Brews are made by a member of staff

And while Wednesday and Thursday evenings are already busy, the team are keen to bring more people through the doors during the day. They certainly have the offering for it.

There are coffee-and-cake afternoons, brunch dates, tapas lunches, craft beer, cocktails and plenty of gluten-free treats to take away.

Then, when the sun goes down, the music comes on, with live performances at weekends and regular events bringing the place to life.

If you’re looking for a reason to venture out of Manchester for something a little different, this might just be it.

Gin & Brews has only been around for a few years, but it already feels like one of those places that has been part of the local scene forever.

And if the homemade butter doesn’t convince you, the cocktails probably will.

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Featured: The Manc Group

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