Hundreds of historic and hidden Greater Manchester buildings will open their doors for free this September

With the summer holidays nearly wrapped up it might feel like there's limited time to book in activities and plan family days out. Fortunately, next month hundreds of historic and hidden venues will be open to the public free-of-charge as part of the National Trust's Heritage Open Days.

The initiative was founded in 1994 and aims to bring people together to celebrate heritage, community, and history. It is England's largest community-led festival of history and culture, and involves thousands of local volunteers and organisations.

A number of Greater Manchester venues have already announced they will be taking part including Victoria Baths, Castlefield Viaduct and East Lancashire Railway. Lesser-known venues include Altrincham Little Theatre and Fairfield Moravian Settlement.

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Nationwide, the festival attracts more than 2,000 organisations and spans 5,000 free events with the help and support of thousands of volunteers. Many of this year’s events are taking part in Greater Manchester with Manchester City Council working alongside Heritage Open Days to offer more than 100 free events across the city and further afield.

Liam Montgomery, Heritage Open Days Marketing & Projects Manager said: “Whether it’s art, music, writing, or another outlet, creativity moves us and shapes our history and culture. This year organisers have once again come up trumps and created a stellar programme of events which put the spotlight on the people and places who give England’s heritage the X-factor and inspire festival-goers to engage with thousands of years of creativity.

"And it is the organisers who make this possible, and whose hard work