Looking for an event to feature? Here’s our pick of the best events coming up in September. As ever, please check individual websites for the latest details.
Discover more…
There’s plenty more to experience, for details on the full range of events check out each destination’s What’s On pages:
Discover a treasure trove of heritage
Heritage Open Days, England’s largest festival of history and culture, returns 6 – 15 September 2024, with a host of events right across the county. Among events are a conducted tour round the treasures of Hull’s majestic Guildhall; touring Hampshire’s Brickworks Museum, the only remaining steam-driven works left in the country; and visiting Staffordshire’s Biddulph Grange Garden, including the Geological Gallery which was the original entrance to the garden.
Best foot forward
The Walking East Yorkshire Festival is so much more than a programme of walks. It’s a celebration of ‘The Great Outdoors’ for walkers, cyclists and even horse riders as they explore and discover this part of the world while enjoying local food and drink. The activities in the countryside and along the coastline will be staged from 14 to 22 September.
Float your boat in Hampshire
Back for its 55th edition, Hampshire’s Southampton International Boat Show, Britain’s largest marine festival, returns to Mayflower Park, Southampton,13 – 22 September. From paddleboards to superyachts and kayaks to catamarans, the show features all things maritime. For 2024, new marina zones will showcase vessels by type, while the ‘On the Water Stage Show’ will feature wingfoiling for the first time. Tickets from £29.99 per person.
Orchestral moves… on a double decker bus
An orchestra is set to tour Hull’s streets on a double decker bus to bring free live music to the city. The Now That’s What I Call an Orchestra event on 14 and 15 September is organised by Back to Ours, a Hull-based charity delivering arts and cultural experiences. Staged in partnership with Eclectic Music, it will feature an orchestra performing everything from modern classics to movie soundtracks from inside the bus.
Churches Festival set to welcome new pilgrims
More than 100 churches and chapels will open their doors over the first two weekends in September for the Lincolnshire Wolds & Coast Churches 2024 Festival. The spotlight falls on the Horncastle and Spilsby area on the 7-8, including St Andrew’s, home to one of the biggest pre-13th century bells in the country. And on the weekend of 14 and 15 it’s the turn of the Louth and Alford area, featuring St Peter’s, the county’s only thatched roof church.
Meet the Lionesses of Hull
A new exhibition in Hull opening this week is set to explore the history of women’s football through the lives of two pioneers of the game. From 28 August 2024 Lionesses of Hull, at the Streetlife Museum, focuses on Hull-born Carol Thomas, the first woman to achieve 50 caps, and the first to lead the Lionesses to a European final, and Hull’s Flo Bilton, a founding member of the Women’s Football Association. The exhibition runs until 23 February 2025.
Sailing celebrations in Staffordshire
This year marks the 50th anniversary of boats being able to sail again on arguably one of the country’s most scenic rural canals. Opened in 1779, the Caldon Canal runs 18 miles from Stoke-on-Trent to Froghall, Staffordshire, but was closed to traffic for more than a decade until it was restored to navigation in 1974. Marking the milestone, a special event at Endon Wharf on 21 September will have live music, classic vehicles, stalls, food and boat trips.
Motormania month
Petrol-heads have already been able to enjoy a terrific season of Simply events throughout the summer at Beaulieu, in Hampshire. And these vibrant rallies offering the chance to admire an impressive line-up of motors, as well as explore the entire Beaulieu attraction, are set to continue in September. Following Simply French on 1 September, it’s the turn of all things BMW on Sunday 22 September before rounding off with Simply British on 29 September.
“A blaze of goldens and flaming reds”
As autumn arrives the gardens surrounding Burghley House become a blaze of goldens and flaming reds. And for Autumn Wonders In The Gardens on 26 September, head gardener Joe Whitehead will provide a behind-the-scenes tour of the seasonal displays, as well as an insight into the history of the Gardens. Tickets are £45 per person, which includes soup and sandwiches.
