Heritage Open Days

The Open University Archive is taking part in the annual Heritage Open Days. The Heritage Open Days are held every year in September across England and include hundreds of free events across many organisations

Our 2025 events will be held on 17, 18 and 19 September and will include campus tours, displays and exhibitions, screening of Open University Archive footage and other activities. Scroll down this page to find out about the activities, book a place on a campus tour and see full schedules for each event day.

New for this year!

Due to the popularity in previous years – we’re adding additional campus tour sessions this year. We’re expecting the tours to be very popular again, so please book early to avoid missing out on a place. The tour booking links are below.

We are delighted to announce that the OU’s singing group Open Voices will be joining the Heritage Open Day celebrations this year by giving a short performance in the Library Atrium at 12noon on Thursday 18th September. No booking is required to come and listen to the performance.

There will also be some new displays and different selections of archive materials to view this year. One of the displays will be celebrating the life of Baroness Betty Boothroyd, Speaker of the House of Commons and Chancellor of The Open University 1995-2006.

Historical campus tours

This year there will be five free, bookable in-person campus tours across the three event days.

Tours will last approximately between 1 hour and 90 minutes and feature selected areas of the OU campus.

The tours will all be identical in content – so please do not book on more than one tour.

For more information about the tours please see the frequently asked questions section at the bottom of this page.

To book places on a tour, click on one of the tour sessions below:

• Wednesday 17 September, 12:00 BOOKING NOT YET OPEN
• Wednesday 17 September, 13:00 BOOKING NOT YET OPEN
• Thursday 18 September, 10:30 BOOKING NOT YET OPEN
• Friday 19 September, 10:30 BOOKING NOT YET OPEN
• Friday 19 September, 14:30 BOOKING NOT YET OPEN

Exhibitions

On each day between 17th and the 19th September, special exhibitions and displays of OU Archive materials will be available to view in the Betty Boothroyd Library Building. There is no need to book to see the displays, and they are free to view.

Learn more about the history of the OU and the history of the Walton Hall Estate before the creation of the OU. Find out more about the unique collections held in the University Archive.

New for this year, a display will be celebrating the life of Baroness Betty Boothroyd, Speaker of the House of Commons and Chancellor of The Open University 1995-2006.

OU Archive cinema

Also new for this year's Heritage Open Day events, there will be showings of historical Open University archive film in the lecture space in the Library atrium. Visitors are welcome to drop-in to these sessions, with no booking required. Three compilations of archive footage have been created for the events, each following a theme:

• Teaching and Learning at the OU
• OU historical events
• Milton Keynes and the Walton Hall estate

See the event schedule below for timings for the OU Archive cinema showings.

Full events schedule

Please note that this schedule is subject to change. The OU Library is open to the public from 09:00 each weekday.

Wednesday 17 September

• 10:30: Heritage Open Day exhibitions open, including the Library atrium, Library presentation room and Archive research room
• 10:45: OU Archive cinema session Teaching and Learning at the OU in the OU Library Lecture Theatre space
• 12:00: Historical campus tour 1 (booked places only – see booking link above)
• 13:00: Historical campus tour 2 (booked places only – see booking link above)
• 13:45: OU Archive cinema session OU Historical Events in the OU Library Lecture Theatre space
• 14:30: OU Archive cinema session Milton Keynes and the Walton Hall Estate in the OU Library Lecture Theatre space
• 15:30: Heritage Open Day exhibition spaces close
• 17:00: OU Library closes

Thursday 18 September

• 10:30: Heritage Open Day exhibitions open, including the Library atrium, Library presentation room and Archive research room
• 10:30: Historical campus tour 1 (booked places only – see booking link above)
• 12:00: Open Voices performance in the Library atrium
• 13:00: OU Archive cinema session OU Historical Events in the OU Library Lecture Theatre space
• 13:45: OU Archive cinema session Teaching and Learning at the OU in the OU Library Lecture Theatre space
• 14:30: OU Archive cinema session Milton Keynes and the Walton Hall Estate in the OU Library Lecture Theatre space
• 15:30: Heritage Open Day exhibition spaces close
• 17:00: OU Library closes

Friday 19 September

• 10:30: Heritage Open Day exhibitions open, including the Library atrium, Library presentation room and Archive research room
• 10:30: Historical campus tour 1 (booked places only – see booking link above)
• 12:00: OU Archive cinema session Milton Keynes and the Walton Hall Estate in the OU Library Lecture Theatre space
• 12:45: OU Archive cinema session Teaching and Learning at the OU in the OU Library Lecture Theatre space
• 13:30: OU Archive cinema session OU Historical Events in the OU Library Lecture Theatre space
• 14:30: Historical campus tour 2 (booked places only – see booking link above)
• 15:30: Heritage Open Day exhibition spaces close
• 17:00: OU Library closes

OU Heritage Open Day events: FAQs

How do I get to the Open University Heritage events and is parking available?

Heritage Open Day visitors can use any of the OU's free car parks on campus. Directions to the campus and a campus map are available on our campus information webpage. The events will take place in the Betty Boothroyd Library Building on the ground floor. Campus tours will start from the Tree of Learning sculpture in the Library atrium for people who have booked a place.

Is there an online version of the tour?

The bookable campus tours are in-person events held for Heritage Open Days on the OU campus, but there is also an online campus exhibition on the Digital Archive where you can take a virtual tour of the campus. There is also a History of Walton Hall online exhibition where you can learn about the pre-OU history of the Walton Hall estate.

Does the tour cover the whole campus?

No, the usual tour route includes the Library, St Michael's Drive and Walton Drive to Walton Hall, the Legacy Garden, then across to the Jennie Lee Building, over to the church (and inside the church) where the tour will finish. The tour leaders will then walk back to the Library building. The tour route is subject to change.

Will the tours be accessible?

There is partial wheelchair access - the tour does not include steps but will include the churchyard where the ground is uneven in places. There is on-site disabled parking available as well as on-site accessible toilets. Assistance dogs are welcome.

Will the tours run in the event of bad weather?

We will aim to run the tours in bad weather - please come prepared with an umbrella and suitable clothing/footwear.

If the tours are fully booked will you be running extra tours?

If the tours become fully booked we will not be running extra tours on the day. You should register using the forms and if there are no places, you will automatically be put onto a waiting list in case of cancellations or future arranged tours.

How do I cancel my tour booking?

It is no problem if you can no longer attend; the tours are free and there is no cancellation penalty. They are always fully booked, though, so we ask that you please notify us as soon as possible if you can no longer attend, so we can cancel your booking and enable people on the waiting list to attend. Simply email us at university-archive-events@open.ac.uk.

How will you use my data?

We will store your form responses on secure Open University systems, with access restricted to the core team responsible for managing the tours. We will only use this data for the purpose of administering the tours and will delete it in October 2025.