Twelve free events across the district, 11 to 20 September, including a windmill open just twice a year. Four need booking, two windows close early.

Twelve free heritage events open across Harborough district between Friday 11 and Sunday 20 September, including a Grade II* windmill that admits the public only twice a year and guided tours of the town’s former corset factory. (Heritage Open Days, Harborough area listings)

The council describes the programme as 17 free activities and experiences, and calls it a record number for the district. (Harborough District Council)

Everything is free. Four of the twelve need booking, and two of those booking windows close before the festival ends, so those are the ones to deal with first.

Book these, and book them soon

  • Kibworth Harcourt Post Mill, Windmill Farm, Langton Road, LE8 0PR. Tours on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September at 10am, 11am, midday, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. Booking closes 17 September. Run by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, which repaired the mill and took it off the Heritage at Risk Register. It is a Grade II listed windmill and a Scheduled Ancient Monument, open to the public only for National Mills Weekend in May and Heritage Open Days in September. Tours last about 45 minutes and take six people at a time*, so places are genuinely scarce. No wheelchair access because of steep steps, and unsuitable for under-eights. (SPAB, 19 September and 20 September)
  • Hallaton Heritage Days, Tin Tab, Churchgate, LE16 8TY. Saturday 12 September 2.30pm to 4pm, Sunday 13 September 2.30pm to 6pm, Saturday 19 September 2.30pm to 4pm, Sunday 20 September 2.30pm to 4pm. Booking closes 19 September. Hallaton Museum is open and there is an exhibition in St Michael and All Angels Church.
  • Shaping Figures: All in a day’s work, Harborough Museum, The Symington Building, Adam & Eve Street, LE16 7AG. Guided tours of the corset factory building at 10.30am, 11.30am and 12.30pm on Saturday 12 and Saturday 19 September, with archive footage of the workers. Places are limited and confirmed by email. You do not need to book to see the display boards, which are up 10am to 3pm on weekdays 14 to 18 September.
  • Cotesbach Educational Trust, Main Street, Cotesbach, LE17 4HX. Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September, 10.30am to 3.30pm. Booking is preferred rather than required, via Eventbrite, and closes 10 September. Guided tours leave from the mosaic in front of the Glasshouse at 11am and 1.30pm, capped at 20 people. Heritage displays, family history activities, guided walks and traditional crafts.

Just turn up

  • The History and Heritage of Gilmorton Church, All Saints, Church Drive, LE17 5LR. Open on six days: Tuesday 15 September 7pm to 9pm, Wednesday 16 September 10am to midday, then Thursday 17 to Sunday 20 September, 10am to 4pm each day. Archived items on view with the Village History Group, and a short talk on the church’s history.
  • Marriage Through the Ages, St Mary’s Parish Church, Church Gate, Lutterworth, LE17 4AN. Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September, 10am to 4pm. An exhibition of wedding dresses marking 150 years of the Mothers’ Union.
  • Wycliffe Rooms Family Fun Days, George Street, Lutterworth, LE17 4ED. Friday 11, Saturday 12 and Saturday 19 September, 9.30am to 12.30pm. A masonic lodge room open to visitors, with rock painting and apron decorating for children. Fully accessible with a lift to the lodge room. The car park at the rear costs £2, coins only, on exit.
  • Making Waves and Corset Creations, Harborough Museum, The Symington Building, LE16 7AG. Craft sessions 10am to 4pm on Saturday 12 and Saturday 19 September, and 5pm to 7pm on Wednesday 16 September. Displays 10am to 3pm from Monday 14 to Friday 18 September. On the Symington swimwear and corset lines.
  • Guided Tour of St Peter’s, Church Langton, Stonton Road, LE16 7SZ. Sunday 13 and Sunday 20 September, both at 1.30pm, lasting about an hour and a half. Archaeological and historical artefacts followed by a tour of a church with 800 years of history. No toilets. The printed guide costs £1 and you need the right change. Cream teas are sold after the tour.
  • Whittling demonstration at Foxton Locks, Foxton Locks Inn, Gumley Road, LE16 7RA. Saturday 19 September 10am to 3pm and Sunday 20 September 10am to 2pm, with Luke Bailey.
  • Canal art painting at Foxton Locks, same venue. Saturday 19 September only, 10am to 3pm. A hands-on workshop with canal artist Alison Root on painting the traditional canal rose.

The tree trail needs an early start

  • Market Harborough Tree Trail, Sunday 20 September. Meet at the Welland Park car park on Farndon Road, LE16 9NW, at 10.45am for an 11am start. Booking is preferred. The full trail takes in ten of the town’s most notable trees across parks, riverside paths and historic streets, and is just over four miles, on tarmac paths and pavements. A shorter option of about an hour is available if you would rather not do the whole thing. (Harborough Woodland Community Volunteers)

What it means for you

The programme is spread thin geographically. Market Harborough has three events, Lutterworth two, and the remaining seven sit in villages: Hallaton, Gilmorton, Cotesbach, Church Langton, Kibworth Harcourt and Foxton Locks, which hosts two. If you do not drive, the town-centre options are the two at the Symington Building and the tree trail.

Weekend clashes are worth planning around. Saturday 19 September is by far the busiest day, with eight of the twelve running: both Foxton Locks demonstrations, the Kibworth mill tours, Hallaton, Gilmorton, the Wycliffe Rooms and both Symington Building sessions. Sunday 20 September and Saturday 12 September have six each.

The thinnest days are Sunday 13 and Monday 14 September, with two apiece. Friday 11 September has three, and each day from Tuesday 15 to Friday 18 September also has three: the two Symington Building displays plus Gilmorton church.

Bar chart of how many of the twelve free Heritage Open Days events in Harborough district are open on each day from 11 to 20 September 2026. Friday 11 has three, Saturday 12 has six, Sunday 13 has two, Monday 14 has two, Tuesday 15 has three, Wednesday 16 has three, Thursday 17 has three, Friday 18 has three, Saturday 19 has eight, and Sunday 20 has six.
Graphic by Harborough News.

Two practical points the listings make plain. The Kibworth mill takes six people per tour and closes bookings on 17 September, which makes it the first thing to sort. And Cotesbach closes its booking window on 10 September, the day before its own event opens, so leaving it to the weekend is too late.

Heritage Open Days entries change at short notice, and the organisers ask visitors to check listings before travelling.

If you are heading into town for any of it, see our guides to roadworks and travel, train times to London and things to do in Market Harborough.