The CEMEX tower, Rugby Gin and the Mayor's Parlour all open free from 11 to 20 September. The full Rugby programme, and the 15 events you must book first.

Twenty-seven Rugby venues and events open free of charge next month, and the ones that always fill first need booking now.

Heritage Open Days runs from Friday 11 September to Sunday 20 September. The borough’s programme is put together by Rugby Visitor Centre, and every listing on it is free. Fifteen of the 27 need a place reserved in advance. Ten need no booking at all.

Rugby Borough Council announced the programme on Wednesday, naming half a dozen highlights. The full Heritage Open Days Rugby 2026 programme is a 27-listing PDF published by The Rugby Town, and every date, time and venue below comes from it.

Day by day list of the 15 Rugby Heritage Open Days events that must be booked in advance, from the sporting heritage walk on Friday 11 September to Princethorpe College tours on Sunday 20 September

Five to book today

These are the listings with hard capacity limits, a single running day, or both.

  • CEMEX Rugby Cement Plant, Lawford Road. A tour, presentation and film at the UK’s largest cement plant, including a trip up the pre-heater tower for views over Rugby and Warwickshire. Three slots on Thursday 17 September (10:30, 13:30 and 16:30) and two on Friday 18 September (10:30 and 13:30), each lasting two hours. Suitable for adults and children aged eight and over, who must be accompanied. Flat, closed-toe footwear only. Access details are given when you book.
  • Rugby Gin Distillery, Home Farm, Pailton Road, Harborough Magna. A tour, talk and tasting on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 September, 11:00 to 12:30. Over-16s only, with tasting for over-18s.
  • Talk and tea with the Mayor of Rugby. Cllr Nooria Sayani hosts a tour of the council chamber followed by tea in the Mayor’s Parlour, Monday 14 September, 12:00 to 13:00, at the Town Hall on Evreux Way. Children are welcome but must be supervised.
  • The 1968 Midland Red bus to Clifton-upon-Dunsmore. Two trips on Wednesday 16 September, 11:00 and 14:00, leaving from Rugby Visitor Centre. Each runs about two hours and takes in a short tour of St Mary’s Church plus refreshments.
  • St Andrew’s Church tower. Thirty-minute climbs on the morning of Saturday 12 September only, between 09:30 and 12:00. Children aged 10 and over may go up with an adult. Not accessible for wheelchair users.

Bookings for all of these go through therugbytown.co.uk/HODs or 01788 533217.

What else needs booking

  • Rugby Theatre backstage tour, Henry Street, Saturday 12 September. Tours run every hour from 09:00, last tour 16:00. No wheelchair access backstage.
  • Rugby School tour, Wednesday 16 September, 13:00 to 15:00, meeting at the School Shop on Barby Road. Includes the School Museum, The Close and Chapel. Ramps need advance notice.
  • Rugby School gardens tour, Tuesday 15 September, 10:30 to 12:00, also from the School Shop. Ninety minutes through areas not usually open, weather permitting. Not suitable for under-fives or wheelchair users.
  • Meet the Rugby School archivist, Wednesday 16 September, 10:30 to 11:30, at Rugby Library. Ages 16 and over. Book through Rugby Library’s Eventbrite or call 0300 5558171, not the visitor centre.
  • Town centre walking tours led by volunteer Rugby Town Guides, all 11:00 to 12:30 from Rugby Visitor Centre: sporting heritage on Friday 11 September, history and heritage on Saturday 12 and Saturday 19, and the public art trail on Friday 18. Fully accessible; recommended age 12 and over.
  • Bilton heritage walking tour, Saturday 12 September, 14:00 to 15:30, meeting by St Mark’s Church car park on Church Walk. The organisers ask that you do not park in the church’s own car park.
  • St Andrew’s Walk the Windows, 45-minute guided tours of the stained glass on Saturday 12 (12:30 to 16:15) and on Monday 14, Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 September (14:00 to 16:15).
  • St Mark’s Church, Bilton, Wednesday 16 September, 14:00 to 15:30. A guided tour of the Grade II* church with refreshments afterwards. A history booklet is available for £2.50.
  • Rugby Art Gallery and Museum’s Everyday Histories, three sessions: object handling on Saturday 12 September, 13:00 to 15:30; Express Arts postcard-making on Thursday 17, 11:30 to 12:30; and The Good Times on Thursday 17, 13:30 to 15:00, which is tailored for adults living with dementia and their carers. Book by phone on 01788 533217.
  • Coombe Abbey Hotel, Friday 18 to Sunday 20 September, tours at 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00 each day, with a scone and a pot of tea. Book on 02476 430536.
  • Coombe Abbey Park guided walk, on the people who shaped the landscape. Coventry City Council’s own event listing gives Saturday 19 September, 10:00 to 12:00, booking essential and car park charges applying. The printed Rugby programme labels the same date “Wednesday 19 September” and adds a 13:00 slot, so check the Coventry booking page before you travel.
  • Princethorpe College, Sunday 20 September, tours at 13:30, 14:15 and 15:00 of the 1833 St Mary’s Priory. Book via princethorpe-college-HOD2026.eventbrite.co.uk.
  • Cotesbach Educational Trust, Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September, 10:30 to 15:30, with guided tours leaving the Glasshouse at 11:00 and 13:30. Bookable on Eventbrite, and volunteers will advise on the day whether space remains.

The ten you can simply turn up to

  • Art at the Alex, 72 to 73 James Street. Tudors and Textiles runs Friday 11 to Sunday 13 September, 11:00 to 16:00, with Tudor dress, food and Sunday music. The Sheep to Shawl Challenge runs from 17 to 20 September, 11:00 to 16:00, with spinners, weavers, knitters and crocheters turning fleece into a wearable shawl over four days.
  • St Peter’s Church, Wolfhampcote, Saturday 12 September, 13:00 to 16:00. A 14th century church, the only survivor of a lost village. Poor wheelchair access and limited parking. Donations asked for refreshments.
  • St Edith’s Church, Monks Kirby, Grade I listed, dating from 1077 and the largest parish church in Warwickshire. Half-hour tours on Saturday 12 (13:00), Sunday 13 (13:00 to 16:00) and Sunday 20 (13:00 to 14:30), with tower access and bell ringing on the Sunday. Ramp access needs a call to the churchwarden on 01788 832887.
  • St Andrew’s vestments exhibition, Saturday 12 to Sunday 20 September, Monday to Friday 09:30 to 14:00 and Saturday 09:30 to 12:00. Closed on Sundays.
  • Marton Museum of Country Bygones, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September, 10:30 to 16:30, with a blacksmith demonstration, a working spinning wheel and children’s trails.
  • History of Brinklow Village, Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September, 11:00 to 15:00 at Brinklow Community Hall. The motte and bailey, the Norman church, the Victorian school and the re-routed canal. Tea and cakes on sale.
  • St Marie’s RC Church, Oak Street, Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September, 10:00 to 16:00. A QR code tour, a children’s treasure hunt and refreshments. Wheelchair accessible.
  • Rugby Baptist Church, Regent Place, Saturday 19 September, 11:00 to 14:00. A 1905 church with curved pews and Art Deco stained glass.
  • Bournville in Rugby, Rugby Meeting House, 28 Regent Place, Saturday 12 and Saturday 19 September, 11:00 to 16:00. A 1909 Quaker adult school and meeting house designed by Bedford Tyler, the architect of the Bournville estate.
  • Rugby Family History Group, Saturday 12 in the foyer of Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, 10:00 to 16:00, and Sunday 13 at Rugby Library, 12:00 to 16:00. Free help with family history research.

What it means for you

  • Book this week, not next. Five tours run on a single day, and the CEMEX plant limits numbers for site safety reasons. Cllr Maggie O’Rourke, the council’s portfolio holder for partnerships, health and wellbeing, put it plainly in the announcement: “with limited places available at many events, it’s best to book early.”
  • One phone number covers most of it. Rugby Visitor Centre on 01788 533217 handles the bookings for everything except Rugby Library’s archivist session, Coombe Abbey Hotel, Coombe Abbey Park, Princethorpe College and Cotesbach, each of which books separately. Those five are the ones people miss.
  • Check the weekday against the date. The printed programme carries at least two day labels that do not match their dates, including the Coombe Abbey Park walk and the start of the Sheep to Shawl Challenge. Dates in September 2026 fall as follows: 11 is a Friday, 12 a Saturday, 13 a Sunday, 19 a Saturday and 20 a Sunday. The programme itself asks visitors to check therugbytown.co.uk for up-to-date information before setting off.
  • Several venues are out in the villages. Wolfhampcote, Monks Kirby, Marton, Brinklow, Cotesbach and Princethorpe are all a drive from the town centre, and Cotesbach is over the Leicestershire border near Lutterworth. Check our roadworks and travel page before a village trip.
  • Accessibility varies sharply. The town centre walks are fully accessible and St Marie’s is wheelchair accessible. St Andrew’s tower, the Rugby School gardens tour, St Peter’s Wolfhampcote and the Rugby Theatre backstage areas are not. The programme states the restrictions for each listing.
  • The tower climbs have an age floor. St Andrew’s tower is 10 and over, CEMEX is eight and over, the archivist session is 16 and over, and Rugby Gin is 16 and over with tasting restricted to adults.

Heritage Open Days is billed by its organisers as England’s largest festival of history and culture, run by volunteers and free to attend, and the national festival runs on the same 11 to 20 September dates. Rugby’s programme takes in a working cement plant, a distillery, two schools, a theatre, an art gallery, a museum of country bygones, seven churches and a Quaker meeting house.

For more to do locally once the festival is over, see our guide to things to do in Rugby.