Claremont's Belvedere Tower opens for the first time in six years. All 17 free Elmbridge events to 20 September, with times and which ones need booking.

Heritage Open Days starts in Elmbridge today and runs until Sunday 20 September. The festival’s own directory lists 17 free events inside the borough.

Saturday 19 September is the day to keep free. Ten of the 17 are open that day.

The headline opening is at Claremont Landscape Garden in Esher. The National Trust will open the historic Belvedere Tower on 19 and 20 September, for the first time in six years, its listing says. Entry to the garden is free both days.

Every event below is free. Times and booking rules come from each organiser’s own entry in the Heritage Open Days directory.

Heritage Open Days events open in Elmbridge each day Bar chart of Elmbridge listings open each day. Friday 11 September 3, Saturday 12 3, Sunday 13 2, Monday 14 1, Tuesday 15 3, Wednesday 16 3, Thursday 17 3, Friday 18 3, Saturday 19 10, Sunday 20 6. Heritage Open Days: Elmbridge events open each day 17 listings inside the borough, 11 to 20 September 2026. Multi-day events count on every day they open. 3 3 2 1 3 3 3 3 10 6 Fri 11Sat 12Sun 13Mon 14Tue 15 Wed 16Thu 17Fri 18Sat 19Sun 20 Source: Heritage Open Days directory, organisers' own listings, checked 11 September 2026. Graphic by Elmbridge News
Every event is listed by day below. Monday 14 September has only the Walton Art Club exhibition.

Running all week

  • Walton Art Club Heritage Exhibition, The Heart Shopping Centre, Walton-on-Thames. Daily from today to 20 September, 9am to 5pm, and 11am to 5pm on the two Sundays. It is in a vacant unit in the covered mall. No booking. Listing.
  • Mount Felix Tapestry panels, Riverhouse Barn Community CafĂ©, Manor Road, Walton-on-Thames. 15 to 20 September, 10am to 4pm. The 44-panel tapestry was hand-stitched by more than 600 volunteers in New Zealand wool. It tells the First World War story of 27,000 wounded New Zealand soldiers cared for in Walton. No booking. Listing.
  • Then and Now: Elmbridge through photographs, Robert Phillips Gallery, Riverhouse Barn. 16 to 20 September, 10am to 4pm. Council staff recreated old Elmbridge Museum photographs from the same spots, to mark the council’s 52 years. No booking. Listing.

Friday 11 September (today)

  • Commonwealth War Graves tour, Walton-on-Thames Cemetery, Terrace Road, 2pm. The cemetery holds 30 Commonwealth burials from the First World War and three from the Second. The tour can end at the site of the New Zealand General Hospital at Mount Felix. Booking required. Listing.
  • Historic walking tour of Walton-on-Thames, from The George Inn, Bridge Street, 3.30pm. A 70 to 90 minute walk through the town and along the towpath, part of the Walton-on-Thames Heritage Festival. Booking preferred. Listing.

Saturday 12 September

  • Old St George’s Church, Esher Park Avenue, behind The Bear. Tours at 11am and 2pm, up to 20 people, about an hour. The church dates from the 1540s and has a private pew designed by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1724. Its listing calls it the only Grade I listed public building in Esher. No booking. The same tours run again on 19 September. Listing.
  • Boudicca talk, Riverhouse Barn, 2pm to 3pm. Free, but book through Riverhouse Barn. Listing.

Sunday 13 September

  • Cobham Mill, Mill Road, 2pm to 5pm. The mill was saved by the Cobham Mill Preservation Trust 40 years ago and restored by volunteers in 1992. Its listing says it is the only fully working water mill in Surrey. Grain is milled on the day. Dogs and children welcome, no booking. Listing.

Tuesday 15 September

  • Historic walking tour of Walton-on-Thames, from Riverhouse Barn, 10am to 11.30am. Booking preferred through Eventbrite. Listing.

Saturday 19 September

  • Claremont Landscape Garden, Portsmouth Road, Esher, 9am to 5pm, last entry 4pm. Free entry and the Belvedere Tower open. No booking. The car park opens at 9am and the Trust asks people not to arrive earlier. Listing.
  • Claremont mansion, Claremont Fan Court School, Portsmouth Road, Esher, 10am to 5pm. The ground floor of the 1774 Palladian mansion, a tree walk, and an exhibition on Hawker Aircraft, which designed Hurricane variants there during the Second World War. Pre-booking required. Listing.
  • Old St George’s Church, Esher, tours at 11am and 2pm, as on 12 September.
  • Get up close to Elmbridge’s history, Riverhouse Barn, 10am to 4pm. A tabletop display of Elmbridge Museum objects. No booking. Listing.
  • Surrey Diggers Escape Room, Riverhouse Barn, 11am to noon or 2.30pm to 3.30pm. Run by Elmbridge Museum, for ages 12 and over. No booking. Listing.
  • The Story of Mount Felix, Riverhouse Barn, 1pm to 2pm. A talk by Spelthorne Museum’s curator. Booking required. Listing.
  • Walton-on-Thames Fashion Show, The Heart plaza, 11am to 4pm. A live show from local, national and charity retailers, and a display marking 20 years of The Heart. Seating provided, no booking. Listing.

Sunday 20 September

  • Cecil Hepworth Playhouse, Hurst Grove, Walton-on-Thames, 11am to 5pm. Tours including backstage, old films of the town, community stalls, and free face painting from 1pm to 4pm paid for by Love Walton. No booking. Listing.
  • Claremont Landscape Garden, Esher, free again, 9am to 5pm.
  • Painshill, Portsmouth Road, Cobham, 10am to 4pm. Free entry with lawn games and self-guided trails, but Painshill’s own entry says it is fully booked and walk-in visitors cannot be admitted. Members get in as normal. Listing.

Just over the borough boundary

These appear in searches for Elmbridge towns but are run in neighbouring boroughs:

  • Semaphore Tower, Chatley Heath, Ockham, in Guildford borough, about two miles south-west of Cobham. 12 and 13 September, 10am to 4pm. The Landmark Trust says it is the only surviving semaphore tower in Britain. Weather permitting, the roof is open. The nearest car parks are about 15 minutes’ walk away. Booking preferred. Listing.
  • St Mary’s Church, Byfleet, in Woking borough, about three miles from Weybridge. 13 September, 2pm to 5pm, with a church and churchyard tour at 3.30pm. No booking. Listing.
  • Slyfield House, Stoke d’Abernon, in Mole Valley, about two miles from Cobham. The 12 September tour is allocated by ballot and listed as fully booked. Listing.
  • Surbiton guided tour, Kingston upon Thames, from Surbiton station. 19 September, 11am. Booking closes on 18 September. Listing.

What it means for you

Most of the Walton events need nothing more than turning up. Book ahead for these:

  • the war graves tour (today)
  • the Boudicca talk (12 September)
  • the Claremont mansion open day (19 September)
  • the Mount Felix talk (19 September)

Riverhouse Barn hosts seven of the 17 listings, so one visit on 19 September covers the museum display, the escape room, the Mount Felix talk, the tapestry and the photographs. The Playhouse has no parking on 20 September because its car park holds the stalls. Its listing points drivers to The Heart, a three-minute walk.

For the rest of the year, our things to do in Elmbridge guide has normal admission prices for Claremont, Painshill and the borough’s other attractions.

Sources

  • Heritage Open Days 2026 directory, searched for Walton-on-Thames, Esher, Weybridge, Cobham, Claygate and Oxshott on 11 September 2026, and each organiser’s event page linked above
  • postcodes.io for which council area each venue postcode falls in