Birmingham Heritage Week is currently putting the finishing touches to its 2026 programme, shining rare spotlights on tunnels beneath the Mailbox, Victorian catacombs at Warstone Lane Cemetery, historic locomotives at Tyseley Rail Depot, and, for the first time, the unique Perrott’s Folly in Edgbaston.
The annual festival, widely regarded as one of the most popular history and heritage events in the Midlands, will run for 10 days from Friday 11 September to Sunday 20 September 2026.
Supported by Birmingham Museums Trust, the National Trust, the University of Birmingham, Birmingham Municipal Charity and Birmingham City Council, the city-wide celebration will offer visitors the chance to discover Birmingham’s rich industrial, cultural and architectural heritage through a diverse programme of events.
The Birmingham Heritage Week 2026 programme and full event listings can be viewed online for browsing enabling visitors to explore the full programme and plan their visit before bookings open at 10am on Saturday, 15 August.
Among this year’s most eagerly-awaited events are rare opportunities to venture into the Mailbox to New Street tunnels, explore the atmospheric catacombs beneath Warstone Lane Cemetery in the Jewellery Quarter, and step aboard historic locomotives at Tyseley Rail Depot with Vintage Trains.
Visitors will also be able to join guided walks around the Yardley Conservation Area, discovering one of the city’s best-preserved historic suburbs.
Also making its Birmingham Heritage Week debut is Perrott’s Folly, one of Birmingham’s most fascinating buildings, which opens its doors for a tour for the first time during Heritage Week.
Visitors will learn how the tower has evolved from an 18th century hunting tower into one of the world’s first weather-recording stations in the 19th century, and now a 21st century arts space.
Rarely open to the public, the tour offers a fantastic opportunity to climb the tower, see the original 18th century plaster ceiling, and take in fantastic views across Birmingham.
The wider programme will include a range of further exclusive tours and walks, with confirmed events already including hard hat tours of Moseley Road Baths, building tours of the Birmingham School of Art and School of Jewellery, Council House tours, visits to the Pugin-designed St Mary’s Convent in Handsworth, and open days at New Hall Mill in Sutton Coldfield.
Birmingham Heritage Week continues to reach well beyond the city centre, with Yardley Village once again taking centre stage alongside neighbourhood walks in Northfield, Harborne, Moor Pool and Handsworth.
Green-fingered visitors are also well catered for, with a chance to explore the Guinea Gardens in Edgbaston – a collection of historic allotment gardens dating back to the early 1800s – alongside open days at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Thrive BBC Gardens in Kings Heath and Winterbourne House and Garden.
Visitors will also be able to enjoy heritage walks exploring Digbeth, the Jewellery Quarter, Chinatown and Birmingham city centre, alongside popular experiences such as walks beneath Spaghetti Junction and tours of Victoria Law Courts and the Victoria Square building stones.
With the programme now finalised, festival organisers are encouraging visitors to start planning ahead of what promises to be one of the busiest years yet, with several of the most popular tours – including the Warstone Lane Cemetery catacombs and Tyseley Rail Depot – expected to sell out quickly once bookings open.
Irene De Boo, Birmingham Heritage Week Co-ordinator, said: “This year’s programme really shows off the breadth of what Birmingham has to offer.
“From the tunnels running beneath the Mailbox to the catacombs at Warstone Lane and the locomotives at Tyseley Rail Depot, these are places people walk past every day without knowing what lies inside – and Heritage Week is our chance to open them up.
“We'd encourage anyone interested in our most popular tours to start planning early, as these events are always in high demand and tend to sell out fast. It’s a brilliant opportunity to see the city we live and work in through completely new eyes.”
