Luton's free Heritage Open Days ran 11 to 20 September 2026 and are over. The national festival returns 10 to 19 September 2027; this was the 2026 programme.
Luton’s Heritage Open Days programme opens on Friday 11 September and runs to Sunday 20 September, and almost all of it is free and drop-in. Five sessions are not, and one of them has already gone.
The climb up St Mary’s Church tower is the scarcest thing in the programme. There are three climbs across the ten days, each limited to eight people and two trained guides. That is 24 places in total. When we checked the church’s booking pages on Sunday 7 September, the Saturday 12 September climb was showing “Event has reached capacity”. The Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 September climbs, both at 12:00, were still open.
The council announced the programme on 4 September and picked out “a rare climb up St Mary’s Church tower” as one of three highlights. It did not say how few places there are.
What needs booking, and what does not
Only St Mary’s runs sessions with a cap on numbers. The church says plainly that these “require have restricted numbers and so booking is required”:
- Climb the tower, Saturday 12 September 12:30 to 13:15, Wednesday 16 September 12:00 to 12:45, Thursday 17 September 12:00 to 12:45. Eight places each.
- Discovering St Mary’s Church, a guided tour, Saturday 12 September 11:00 to 12:15 and Wednesday 16 September 13:00 to 14:00. Twenty-five places each.
Everything else in the Luton programme is turn-up-and-go.
The tower: 98 steps, and conditions attached
The tour is a climb up a 98-step medieval spiral staircase to a tower that was finished around the year 1400. The church’s own pitch is that the view now includes something new: it is “a great place to view all the progress in the construction of Luton Town FC’s new stadium just over the road on Power Court”.
The booking conditions are firm, and worth reading before you turn up:
- tours are capped at eight people plus two guides
- climbs will not run if winds are above 20mph or if it is raining, and the group must come down immediately if it starts to rain while up there
- full shoes or trainers only, no sandals, flip flops or heels
- no bags or items carried in the hand; a small shoulder bag is allowed, and cameras and binoculars must be on straps around the neck
- you must be fit and healthy enough for the climb
- arrive 10 minutes early to check in
The church suggests bringing binoculars, and a strapped head lamp if you have one.
The building itself is open six days
You do not need a ticket to look round. St Mary’s is Luton’s only Grade I listed building, and it is open with activities on:
- Saturday 12 September, 10:30 to 16:30
- Tuesday 15 September, 10:30 to 14:30
- Wednesday 16 September, 10:30 to 14:30
- Thursday 17 September, 10:30 to 14:30
- Friday 18 September, 10:30 to 14:30
- Saturday 19 September, 13:30 to 14:30
There has been a church on the site for some 1,200 years, and the present building for 900. The church’s own account is precise about it: two, possibly three, wooden churches stood there for the first 300 years, construction of the stone church began in 1121, it was consecrated in 1135, and by around 1400 the structure standing today was largely in place. It was substantially renewed in the late 1800s, which is why Simon Jenkins describes it as “the two richest periods of English architecture, the 15th and 19th, … in glorious harmony.”
The guided tour takes in the Barnard Chantry, which the church says was possibly a leper chapel, the Baptistry and its font canopy, the Wenlock Screen and the Magnificat Window.
Medieval activities run alongside, led by History Knights: an exhibition and hands-on sessions from Tuesday to Saturday, and a “Knight School” on the Saturday only. Two short midweek devotional services run at 11:00 on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 September.
The rest of the free programme
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 11 to 20 September | Written Here: Luton's Everyday Histories, an exhibition of writing about the town in under 30 words each. No pre-booking | Long Gallery, Hat Factory Arts Centre |
| Sunday 13 and Sunday 20 September, 11:30 to 12:30 | Luton 150: Stories from the Town 1876 to 2026. Paul Hammond on the borough and Wardown Park, Nigel Lutt on the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment collection, then audience questions | Wardown House, Museum and Gallery |
| Sunday 13 and Sunday 20 September, 13:30 to 15:00 | Tour of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment galleries, and a separate tour of Wardown House itself | Wardown House, Museum and Gallery |
| Thursday 17 September, 11:00 to 17:00 | Let's Not Forget: A Walk in the Past. Seven locations across the Dallow ward with augmented-reality displays reached by QR code, plus live actors at each stop | Starts at Brantwood Park |
| Friday 18 September, 11:00 to 17:00 | Luton Hoo Walled Garden opens on a Friday for the festival | The Walled Garden, Luton Hoo |
| Friday 18 September, 17:00 to 19:00 | Written Here: viewing and get-together | Hat Works |
The Luton Hoo garden is the one with the longest history attached. It was designed by Capability Brown in the late 1760s for John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, the botanist who served as prime minister under George III. It now runs to five acres inside the original 18th-century octagonal wall, and is maintained largely by more than a hundred volunteers.
The national festival theme this year is “Everyday Histories”, and Heritage Open Days runs across England from 11 to 20 September.
The walking tours are not part of it, and they cost £3
Two heritage walking tours appear on the same council calendar in the same window, and they are easy to mistake for part of the free programme.
They are not. Both cost £3 and are ticketed through Eventbrite:
- London Road, Saturday 12 September, 09:30 to 11:00, meeting at Kamsons Pharmacy car park, 1 Windsor Street, LU1 3UA
- Town Hall, Saturday 19 September, 09:30 to 11:00, meeting on the Town Hall steps, George Street, LU1 2BQ. The walk tells the story of the 1919 uprising around the current 1936 building
Both are led by local historian Paul Hammond and are part of a separate eight-part series of Luton 150 walks, each starting at 09:30 and running an hour and a half. They are listed under the council’s Luton 150 categories, not its Heritage Open Days ones.
What it means for you
If you want the tower, book now and take a midweek slot. Saturday has gone, and there are only 16 places left across the other two climbs. Booking is through the church’s own ChurchSuite pages, linked from the St Mary’s Heritage Open Days page.
If you are going on the first weekend, plan the roads. Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September are also the two Luton 150 concert days at Stockwood Park, and the organisers have confirmed road closures on Farley Hill Road and Cutenhoe Road, with no closure times published as of 7 September. St Mary’s, Wardown House and the Hat Factory are all away from that, but the town centre will be busier than usual and parking will be tighter. What is closed and when is in Luton roadworks and travel, and the concert details are in the Luton 150 weekend guide.
If the weather turns, check before travelling for the tower specifically. Rain or winds over 20mph stop that climb, and nothing else in the programme depends on it.
Frequently asked questions
When is Heritage Open Days in Luton in 2026?
The festival runs from Friday 11 September to Sunday 20 September 2026, the same dates as the national programme. Luton’s events are spread across St Mary’s Church, Wardown House, the Hat Factory, Brantwood Park and Luton Hoo Walled Garden.
Is Heritage Open Days in Luton free?
Yes. Every event in the Heritage Open Days programme is free. Two heritage walking tours appear on the same council calendar during the same weeks and cost £3 each, but they are part of a separate Luton 150 series rather than the festival.
Do I need to book anything?
Only at St Mary’s Church, which caps five sessions. The three tower climbs take eight people each, and the two Discovering St Mary’s tours take 25 each. Everything else in the Luton programme is drop-in.
Can I still climb St Mary’s tower?
On 7 September the Saturday 12 September climb was full. The Wednesday 16 September and Thursday 17 September climbs, both at 12:00, still had places. Climbs do not run in rain or in winds above 20mph.
How many steps is the St Mary’s tower climb?
98, up a medieval spiral staircase. You need to be fit and healthy for it, wear full shoes or trainers, and arrive 10 minutes early to check in.
Sources
- Heritage Open Days 2026, St Mary’s Church Luton, for the opening times, the booking requirement, the tour and climb dates and times, the 98 steps, the 25-place tour cap, the building’s history and dates, the Simon Jenkins quotation, the Grade I listing and the History Knights activities.
- St Mary’s ChurchSuite booking pages for the tower climb on 12 September, 16 September and 17 September, and the guided tour on 12 September and 16 September, for the eight-person cap, the booking conditions and the capacity status on 7 September 2026.
- Heritage Open Days returns to Luton this September, Luton Borough Council, 4 September 2026, for the announcement and the festival dates.
- Explore Luton events calendar, Luton Council, for every event, date, time and venue in the table, and for the London Road and Town Hall walking tours, their £3 price, meeting points and Luton 150 categorisation.
- Heritage Open Days, the national festival site, for the 11 to 20 September 2026 dates and the “Everyday Histories” theme.
- Luton 150 travel information, Step Forward Luton, for the Farley Hill Road and Cutenhoe Road closures on 12 and 13 September.
Have your say