Heritage Open Days

2025 Theme: Architecture

Buildings, bridges and beehives! In 2025 we'll be exploring how we’ve designed and built the world around us.

Heritage Open Days is back for 2025!  

Heritage Open Days is England's largest festival of history and culture, involving thousands of local volunteers and organisations. Every year in September it brings people together to celebrate their heritage, community and history. Stories are told, traditions explored, and histories brought to life. It’s your chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – and it’s all FREE.

How Can I Get Involved? 

Whether there is a local figure you’d like to celebrate, a great story you would love to tell, or you’d like to open your place of work or home, we’d love you to take part and support your event! You can find out more about Heritage Open Days by visiting the national website here or we can pair you with one of our wonderful HODs coordinators who can help you with queries such as organising an event, registering your event, insurance, publicity, and we can even help you find a venue.

For further information an support please email office@leedscivictrust.org.uk or call 0113 243 9594

Important Dates: 

• Heritage Open Days Registrations Open: March 2025
• Leeds Civic Trust Grants open: 12 March 2025
• Leeds Civic Trust Grants close: 12 May
• Registration for your event to ensure your event is listed in the Leeds Civic Trust HODs booklet: 06 June 2025. Please note registration is open until the 14 August on the national website but if your event isn't registered before the 06 June your event will not appear in the Leeds HODs booklet. 
• Leeds Civic Trust HODs booklet launch for openers: 08 July 2025
• Heritage Open Days Booklets to start appearing in libraries, One Stop Centres and Leeds Museums and Galleries: 14 July 2025
• Registration for the Heritage Open Days National Site closes in 14 August 2025
• The festival!: 12 - 21 September 

Leeds Civic Trust HODs grants: 

Leeds Civic Trust is pleased to announce the return of its grant scheme for the third year running. This year, we would like the grant to support sites and events that encourage children and families to engage with heritage during Heritage Open Days (HODs) 2025. We are inviting Heritage Open Days Openers to use our grant to develop an interactive trail/ scavenger hunt/ activity that tells the unique stories of your site or organisation. The activity can be a lasting feature, available for use at future events, helping to keep heritage education fun and accessible.

Grant Purpose: 

This grant will support the creation of an interactive trail/ scavenger hunt/ treasure hunt/ activity that educates and entertains families, particularly children, by guiding them through your site and its history. The activity may include physical objects, signage, printed materials, and potentially a designer to help create the experience. The aim is to enhance the visitor experience and ensure the activity is engaging for younger audiences. Leeds Civic Trust will further support the grant recipients with Leeds Civic Trust illustrated pin badges/stickers to give out to people who take part in the trail.

Grant Amount: 

Grants of up to £250 are available to support the development and delivery of the worksheet/scavenger hunt/trail/ activity for your Heritage Open Days event.

Grant applications are now open! 

Click here to download the application form

Please read the full terms and conditions before applying.

Please return all applications to Office@leedscivictrust.org.uk

Closing Date: 10am, 12 May 2025 

Need some support or ideas on how to make a trail/treasure hunt/scavenger hunt? 

Pinterest ideas for worksheets, scavenger hunts, trails 

How to make a scavenger hunt

Glasgow's City Heritage Trust how to make a Kids trail toolkit

Not sure how to design your own worksheet/trail/scavenger hunt?

Canva offers a range of free design templates and clip art. 

Canva

Please keep an eye on our social media for further information.

Full information will also be available on the Heritage Open Days website.

Don’t forget, if you need any information, you can email us at office@leedscivictrust.org.uk or drop us a message on instagram or facebook. We are here to help!