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The Friends group of a small local cemetery organised one of the biggest press highlights of the year. The Friends have worked in partnership with the local heritage group to run Heritage Open Days for a number of years but this time they researched ways they could connect with the national festival theme, and the result was a real 'CemeTreat'!

This intriguing 300 year old Meeting House is definitely a hidden gem with a whole lot of heart. The Mansfield Unitarians' enthusiastic planning team has been running a Heritage Open Day since 2013, working in partnership locally (and beyond!) to create a weekend of fun and friendship for all the community.

Not all castles are the same... in the heart of Devon sits one that has been an historic family home for over six centuries with a growing reputation as a hub of community engagement. The glorious Powderham Castle welcomes over 40,000 visitors in a normal year with an emphasis on working in partnership with local groups and educational charities. Heritage Open Days has become one of their open access programmes, giving visitors the chance to 'test drive' a day trip and the team an opportunity to connect with competitors.

Help! A 17th century ship is disintegrating, the Tudor tapestry is unravelling, and your precious ancient manuscript is torn and faded! Who are you gonna call?! The Conservators! Are you ready to meet some of these stars, and find out just how they work their magic on our heritage treasures? Well, here are 10 great opportunities for you – picked out by the Institute of Conservation no less, but be quick, they book up fast!

The biggest and best festival yet was delivered by our growing, and increasingly diverse community. With the help of new micro-grants and partnerships over 5,879 events were organised offering people more places to visit and stories to explore than ever before.

From stewardesses who survived the Titanic, to the engineer who helped her ship out run an enemy plane. The remarkable lives of pioneering working women who went to sea during the first half of the 20th Century have been largely unrecorded until recently. The latest book by Siân Evans, Maiden Voyages, tells their stories - tales of adventure, steadfast courage, camaraderie and conflict. For International Women’s Day she’s giving us a taste of some of them – so grab a cuppa and let the armchair travels begin…

This medieval house is bursting with stories but not a lot of space! To work round this the team at National Trust Tintagel Old Post Office work in partnership with their neighbours (Tintagel WI) to showcase their site and engage more of their local community. This year's focus for the festival was on celebrating the 30th anniversary of the restoration work for their wonderful wonky roof - by inviting more people in to share their story, they have also gained new information for their archives.

The most northerly town in England was one of the first pioneers of Heritage Open Days. Its ongoing success as a festival hub is down to the work of many volunteers, working in partnership and willing to try new things. Since 2018 a multi-generational steering group has coordinated the brilliant progamme of events, drawing on its rich history to transform the town for a weekend, helping people see it in a new light.

This painting has more to tell than a first glance shows. Benjamin Britten & Peter Pears - individually great musicians, but together simply extraordinary. Their partnership was celebrated on stage but had to be hidden off it. The rich symphony of that love story though is now told at their beautiful home with its extensive collection. Drawing on photographs and notes, but also the details hidden in receipts, bookplates, and this painting, Dr Christopher Hilton, Head of Archive & Library, is here to tell us more about their 40 year duet.

From tidal waters and shimmering sands, to rushing rivers and an extensive canal network - we are a watery nation! Explore our coastal and waterways heritage this September with shipwreck tales, lighthouse maps, boats and barges to board, plus experts to quiz.

How do you engage people with a busy 1,352ft long historic bridge, rising over 300ft above a gorge, which is in constant use?! This Trust has been doing just that, hugely successfully, for ten years. Working in partnership with a range of experts currently involved in maintaining the structure has given the team a new angle this year and made them even more of a highlight for visitors.

This beautiful Georgian house was invaded by giant (knitted) bugs as part of an expanded visitor offer for the festival this year. Working in partnership with the local Westerham Society and also with other National Trust colleagues tested the team's planning and resources but helped bring in a new audience.

A Hindu place of worship in a modern building, beautifully decorated with traditional designs, welcomed many eager visitors over Heritage Open Days for the first time this year. Careful planning to engage a large new team of volunteers, ranging in age from 11-70+, meant they could spend more time with visitors enriching the experience for all.

Holding open days for the community has become a vital part of this school’s year. Inviting people in to explore this historic building and its archive has helped overturn local perceptions and led to joyful reunions for past pupils. On little to no budget, working in partnership by providing a venue for others to run creative activities adds extra interest, further builds community links, and this year, may have inspired a new career for one young visitor!

What a whirlwind! It’s been a VERY busy winter, but all the hard work is starting to blossom as our festival cycle kicks into gear with the Spring. Having moved office and built a new database on top of usual festival business, we are now emerging from our backstage bubble so it’s time to share some stories! Grab a cuppa and take 5 with us for an update.

Discover the talented dancers who have worked on stages across the globe, on films such as Indianna Jones, and with iconic pop stars like Madonna. The history of Black dancers in British ballet is rich and inspiring, but not well known. A project run by Oxygen Arts is seeking to change that, they gave a wonderful talk over our festival but as we couldn’t all attend, we’ve invited them to share their work here. Be inspired by some of their stories and find out more about their important work.

In Georgian England a London merchant saw the opportunities of industry in the North. Settling in Cheshire he built Daresbury Hall for his family, from which a web of stories can be unravelled. Heatherfield Heritage have been digging in to the records to follow the threads of these everyday histories and share some of them with us here - but watch out for more over the festival in September!

Have you heard of the pioneering roadbuilder who was blind? The South Asian women who joined the army in WWII? What about the late Victorian queer poet who earned a state pension? Here are some great events shining a light on important, but lesser known histories over the festival.

The bunting’s packed away (or is it?!) and the weather’s turned chilly but our creative juices are firing for next year! After a busy couple of months travelling about and meeting people it’s time to sit down with a cuppa and take stock – take 5 with us for a peek behind the scenes of festival planning in the ‘quiet’ months!