September 2025: As autumn paints our treetops golden and the air turns cool and crisp, England's calendar is brimming with new seasonal events, festivals and launches. From outdoor adventures that savour the last of the sunshine to vibrant foodie celebrations, brand new hotel openings and set-jetting opportunities, there's a wealth of ways to welcome autumn in style…

A Taste of Autumn 

Enjoy the season's wild flavours on a foraged and fire-cooked supper club with Untamed Dining in Lancaster (12 Sep & 24 Oct). In its rustic Out Barn, guests will gather around a long candlelit banquet table to feast on local ingredients, all cooked on an open fire. Meanwhile in East Sussex, the Rye Harvest Wine & Food Fair 2025 (13 & 15 Sep) will put the region's top producers, distillers, brewers and winemakers in the spotlight, with local markets and tasting sessions, plus live music, talks and poetry. Later in the month, Cornwall's Truro Food Festival (24 – 28 Sep) will return to Lemon Quay for five days of foodie events, markets and live music, with expert-led workshops and events from the likes of chef Jack Stein (son of Rick Stein) and sommelier Elly Owen. Over in the West Midlands, Taste Worcestershire (6 – 26 Oct) will return with three weeks of exclusive deals which champion the region's restaurants and produce, from award-winning fine dining to much-loved local favourites.

NEW: Hereford Food Safaris, Herefordshire

Throughout autumn 2025

Whether farm-to-table dining or sipping English wines in vineyards, food lovers can now explore Herefordshire's gourmet offering on three new self-guided food safaris. Covering the north, south and the Golden Valley regions, the itineraries allow visitors to experience award-winning farm shops, delis, cosy pubs and more. Additionally, guests can tuck into the three-day 'Exceptional Eats' itinerary curated by wild food chef Tait Miller. Visit Herefordshire is also celebrating six-weeks of scrumptious cider celebrations this autumn, including Herefordshire Craft Cider Week (13 – 20 Sept), the Museum of Cider's Perryfest (4 Oct) and the Big Apple Harvest Time weekend (11 – 12 Oct).

NEW: Society Birmingham street food hall, West Midlands

5 September 2025

On a mission to champion the West Midlands' home-grown chefs and artisan producers, Society Birmingham will feature a huge street food hall with five independent kitchens – plus an outdoor terrace, craft beer bar, café and cocktail bar. This lively new venue will be located in the city centre, seating up to 350 diners amid colourful murals and artworks by local creatives. Like its sister food hall Society Manchester, we can expect live music, events and DJ sets too, with a buzzing atmosphere from lunchtime until late.

NEW: Autumn cookery experiences for foodies at The Cookery Studio, Bath

Various dates, from 12 September 2025

After launching this summer, The Cookery Studio is introducing new classes and workshops – including macaron masterclasses, sushi-crafting experiences and pasta making. It will also run a specialist chocolate course, to learn the art of tempering, ganache, piping and flavouring, while other sessions will teach the techniques of Vietnamese, Chinese and Italian cuisine.

NEW: Ludlow Food Festival to launch a new pub trail, Shropshire

12 – 14 September 2025

New for this autumn, Ludlow Food Festival will launch a pub trail through 16 watering holes in the pretty market town – including old-style 'parlour pubs', micro-breweries, tap houses and traditional pubs on an easy-to-follow mapped trail. The wider festival, which celebrates Ludlow's passion for local 'slow food', features farmers' markets, cooking demonstrations, and Q&As with renowned chefs and authors, plus a live fire-cooking night at Ludlow Castle.

NEW: Beer & Cider by the Sea, Eastbourne, East Sussex

12 – 14 September 2025

Eastbourne's Beer and Cider by the Sea will host its first early-autumn festival, giving visitors the opportunity to sample a range of food and beverages from local producers across Sussex. The three-day festival will feature over 140 varieties of ales, craft beers and ciders which guests can enjoy while watching a line up of live bands and artists.

NEW: Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival, Bristol

18 – 20 September 2025

Dig into the flavours of the South West at Yeo Valley Organic Garden's first ever festival – a food and farming focused event showcasing the best of England's harvest. Highlights of the festival will include panel discussions and hands-on workshops exploring biodiversity, sustainable farming and practical gardening skills.

NEW: Autumn-themed stays at Salwey Lodge, Ludlow, Shropshire

Available mid-September – mid-November 2025

Savour the joys of autumn on Salwey Lodge's new three-day Feast Walk Stay package. It includes woodland walks from the door through ancient Saxon forest, a tour of Ludlow Brewery, local breakfasts and dinners each day and – for the hardy – a plunge in the Lodge's Cold Bath house, believed to be the only fully intact Georgian example in the country. Autumnal menus will be created from produce grown in the lodge's vegetable garden, as well as venison and beef from its farm and Mortimers Forest.

NEW: Introduction to Foraging with Vale House Kitchen, Somerset

28 September 2025

Whether in hedgerows, fields or forests, delve into the natural bounty of autumn on a new one-day foraging adventure with this renowned cookery school. Guests will explore the Somerset countryside in the company of expert forager and landscape ecologist Adrian Boots, gathering and preparing their own wild ingredients for a hyper-local seasonal lunch.

NEW: Freight Island street food market and entertainment venue, Newcastle

Autumn 2025

Inspired by New York's Coney Island, Newcastle's new entertainment and dining destination will cover more than 60,000 sq ft, on the rooftop of the former Debenhams unit in Eldon Square. Guests will be able to tuck into street food dishes, sip craft drinks and enjoy live music and DJ sets. After opening its first award-winning site in Manchester in 2020, Freight Island Newcastle will bring a mix of cultural and immersive experiences to the North East.

Black History Month

Throughout October, cultural hubs all over England will celebrate Black History Month which puts Black heritage and stories in the spotlight through music, art and performance. This year's theme is 'Standing Firm in Power and Pride', honouring the 60th anniversary of the death of Malcolm X and the introduction of the Race Relations Act 1965 – the UK's first legislation to prohibit racial discrimination.

Black History Month events will be held all over the country, including live music, fashion and spoken word at Manchester's Black Creative Trailblazers Showcase (3 Oct), the Nottingham debut of Cassa Pancho's Ballet Black performing Shadows at Theatre Royal (24 Oct), and a Black History Month Scratch Night in Leicester showcasing bold new works from local artists (3 Oct). Black History walking tours will reveal the people and places that have shaped Britain's Black heritage in Norwich (5 Oct), Brixton (1 Nov) and central London (4 Oct). In Hull, the New Theatre will delve into the archives of one of Black music's most celebrated icons with In The Name of Love: The Diana Ross Story (4 Oct), closely followed by Classically Black with Laura Mvula & the CBSO (10 Oct) at Birmingham's Symphony Hall. At the Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage in Leicester, Reel Histories film screenings will take place throughout October, featuring stories designed to educate, empower and entertain.

Events, Experiences & Festivals

NEW: Japan Week, Manchester
4 – 9 September 2025
A cultural festival featuring hundreds of Japanese performers and showcasing Japanese culture will take over Manchester for a week following the city's selection as host to Japan Week 2025. The 50th anniversary of the international event will bring arts, music, fashion and sports to the city with a series of free events, coinciding with EXPO 2025 in Osaka. And in October, the Grand Sumo Tournament will come to London's Royal Albert Hall for five days of traditional wrestling (15–19 October) – the UK's largest Sumo event, and the first of its kind to take place outside Japan.

NEW: ECHO Tribute Festival, Lancashire

19 – 21 September 2025

This brand-new music event will be launching in Lancashire this September, with a three-day line-up featuring live tribute acts to Taylor Swift, ABBA, Elton John and more. Hosted at Waddow Hall in Clitheroe, the performances will span decades and genres, including country music, pop and 80s and 90s icons.

NEW: Turner Prize Exhibition 2025, Bradford

27 September 2025 – 22 Feb 2026

This year marks 250 years since the birth of J.M.W. Turner in 1775, one of the nation's greatest painters. Coinciding with this celebration, The Turner Prize exhibition is coming to Bradford for the first time to showcase the works of the four shortlisted artists, Nnena Kalu, Rene Matić, Mohammed Sami and Zadie Xa, at the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery. Inspired by Turner, the finalists were announced on the anniversary of the painter's birth on 23 April 2025. In November, London's Tate Britain will also present a new exhibition featuring the works of Turner and John Constable, displaying landmark works by both artists as well as sketches, letters and personal items (27 November 2025 – 12 April 2026).

27 September 2025 marks 200 years since the birth of the modern railway, nationwide

On 27 September, Britain will celebrate Railway 200 – the 200th anniversary of the modern railway, which saw the world's first steam-powered passenger train travel on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825. To mark the occasion, several events and festivals will take place across England, including Anniversary Journey, a recreation of that debut route on sections of the original S&DR line in Shildon, Darlington and Stockton (26 – 28 Sep). Shildon's Hackworth Park, which is named after an engineer who worked on the original railway, will also host an Anniversary Picnic to mark the occasion, with a brass band, live singers and a vintage funfair (27 Sep). And after years of renovation works, York's National Railway Museum will finally open its new-look Station Hall on 26 September. Once home to York's main goods station and freight depot, this state-of-the-art exhibition space will tell the stories of the people working on, using and passing through England's railway stations.

NEW: Wallace & Gromit: A Case at the Museum, The Harris, Lancashire

28 September 2025 – 4 January 2026

Aardman's iconic animated duo are heading to Preston in an immersive, hands-on exhibition at The Harris in Preston. The headline exhibition will be the first following the gallery's extensive £19m renovation. Guests can expect to see original stop-motion models and figures from the Wallace & Gromit films, alongside interactive VR displays, storyboards and items from the animation studio's archives.

NEW: Opening of the Schwarzman Centre, Oxford, Oxfordshire

October 2025

For the first time in Oxford University's history, all of its humanities faculties will be housed together in this state-of-the-art centre for learning and culture – which will include a library, lecture theatres and an exhibition venue. The public will benefit too, with the opening of a new 500-seat concert hall and 250-seat auditorium, plus flexible performance spaces for music, dance and art. Made possible by £185m of donations from philanthropist and businessman Stephen A. Schwarzman, the centre will also be a community hub, and will host local festivals, events and cultural celebrations.

NEW: Mercury Prize 2025 Award Ceremony, Newcastle

16 October 2025

For the first time, the Mercury Prize is heading out of London, with Newcastle set to host the 2025 awards. In the lead up to the ceremony, a week-long fringe programme will take place across the region spotlighting emerging talent in the North East's music scene. The Award Show will feature live performances from many of the twelve shortlisted artists and will be covered by BBC Music.

NEW: Whitby Lit Fest, North Yorkshire

6 – 9 November 2025

This autumn more than 50 authors will gather in Whitby for its inaugural Literature festival, offering a range of events, live conversations and performances celebrating storytelling. This will include talks with crime writing author Lee Child, playwright Sir Alan Ayckbourn and actress Miriam Margolyes on her latest book, The Little Book of Miriam. Guests can put pen to paper with poetry, screenwriting and fiction workshops led by experts, or enjoy live music performances from local musicians.

NEW: Stoke-on-Trent 100: Heritage Festival for the Centenary, Staffordshire

Autumn 2025 – March 2026

This new Centenary Heritage Festival has received £186,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, to celebrate 100 years of the city's rich cultural legacy. It will feature 17 projects that highlight its World Craft City status, including a two-day Ceramic Symposium at Jubilee Hall and free access to The Potteries via Heritage Open Days in September.

Starring England: New Films, TV & Theatre

NEW: The Roses, filmed in Salcombe, Devon

29 August 2025

New film The Roses will star iconic English actors Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch, alongside Devon's stunning coastline. The black comedy follows the demise of Ivy and Theo's seemingly perfect relationship, and is inspired by the classic 1989 film The War of the Roses. Many of the key filming locations were in and around the coastal town of Salcombe in Devon, including North Sands beach and its popular Winking Prawn beachside restaurant.

NEW: Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, filmed at Highclere Castle, Hampshire and in Yorkshire

12 September 2025

The eagerly awaited third Downton Abbey movie will premiere in cinemas this autumn, featuring Hampshire's iconic Highclere Castle. Located in the heart of 5,000 acres of Hampshire's countryside, visitors can explore the castle's 13th Century gardens before wandering through some of the 300 stately rooms that feature in the Downton Abbey series and films. The beloved franchise is set in fictional North Yorkshire, with the market town of Thirsk being used as a filming location in the new movie. Other notable Yorkshire sites set to shine in Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale include Ripon Racecourse and the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate.

NEW: Peaky Blinders Nights, Black Country Living Museum, Birmingham

27 September & 15 November 2025

This autumn the Black Country Living Museum will host two special Peaky Blinders evening events, inviting visitors to step back in time down cobblestone streets in search of the Shelby family. Guests are encouraged to dress to impress in their finest flat caps, threads and frocks, and to immerse themselves in the industrial world of 1920s Birmingham with an evening of live music, immersive street drama and vintage food and drinks.

NEW: The Alan Partridge Sound Bath Garden, at Pensthorpe, Norfolk

Late September 2025

Aha! Designed by Alan Partridge – as played by Steve Coogan – this sound-themed garden will move to its permanent home at Pensthorpe after its debut at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show. It will be “a sound garden for the people of Norfolk,” said Alan, who added: “As someone not poor enough to have ever lived in a flat, gardens have been a feature of my domestic life for decades.” It will feature playful elements from the bumbling broadcaster's own home, amid Pensthorpe's wider wildlife reserve, gardens and trails.

Return of The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Devon

4 – 11 October 2025

The critically acclaimed The Lord of the Rings - A Musical Tale will commence its inaugural season at Theatre Royal Plymouth this autumn – after touring the US, New Zealand, Australia and Asia. Told from the Hobbits' perspective, director Paul Hart's production is a large-scale interpretation of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic trilogy, with a 32-strong ensemble of actors and actor-musicians. As the Hobbits celebrate Bilbo's eleventy-first birthday in the Shire, he gifts his nephew Frodo his most precious belonging – a gold ring. It launches Frodo on a perilous quest across Middle-earth to the darkest realms of Mordor, to vanquish evil with his loyal Fellowship.

NEW: Launch of Paddington: The Musical, London

1 November 2025

McFly's Tom Fletcher has composed the music and lyrics for a new Paddington stage musical, adapted from Michael Bond's beloved books and film series, which will debut at The Savoy Theatre on 1 November 2025. Fletcher, known for his success with McFly and children's storybooks, will use his musical talents to capture the magic of Paddington's adventures and mishaps with the Brown family.

NEW: Wicked: For Good movie

21 November 2025

After the success of the first Wicked film, which received 10 Oscar nominations, this sequel will hit cinemas in November. While the second movie's filming locations are still under wraps, this is a great excuse to revisit the first movie's locations in some of England's most beautiful landscapes. Seven Sisters Country Park in Sussex took centre stage in the opening scene and offers dramatic sea views and walking trails such as the South Downs Way. Meanwhile, the village of Ivinghoe in the Chiltern Hills was transformed into Munchkinland, with colourful cottages and the Yellow Brick Road. Norfolk also featured in the first film: Belmont Nurseries, the UK's largest tulip grower, cultivated nine million tulips to transform its fields into a rainbow of hues to evoke Oz.

New Hotels & Accommodation

NEW: Daskor treehouse at Kosel Treehouses, Helston, Cornwall

September 2025

As the only treehouse in the South-West that can sleep up to five people, Daskor – the newest addition to Kosel Treehouses in Helston – will be ideal for group get-togethers and family gatherings. It's located in newly planted woodland, and features creature comforts aplenty: think kingsize beds in two bedrooms, a modern kitchen with induction hob, and an outdoor stone bath and pizza oven overlooking the forest.

NEW: Budock Vean Hotel launches autumn experience breaks in Falmouth, Cornwall

Various dates, from 26 September 2025

Guests of Budock Vean Hotel can book three new themed breaks this autumn, amid its 65 acres of sub-tropical gardens beside the Helford River. Options include a Wild Swimming Weekend (26–28 Sept) featuring guided swims in stunning coastal locations; a Walking Weekend (26–29 Sept) discovering Cornwall's coastal trails and hidden coves; and the Autumn Watercolour Break (12–16 Oct) featuring expert painting tuition.

NEW: Hyll Hotel opening in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire

September 2025

The Cotswolds village of Chipping Campden welcomes the opening of a new hotel, Hyll, this September. The Grade II listed 17th Century manor house was renovated in the style of traditional Cotswolds architecture, with the interiors featuring homeware made by British brands and local independent makers. The hotel will offer eight bedrooms in the main house, and 14 in the various outbuildings across the 60-acre property.

NEW: The Belfry Hotel & Resort £80m refurbishment, Wishaw, Warwickshire

September 2025

Having hosted more Ryder Cup tournaments than anywhere else in the world, this West Midlands hotel and golf resort is synonymous with championship golf – and now it's teeing up for the future with a huge £80m redevelopment. Its new look will include more than 100 additional bedrooms and the cutting-edge Masters Suite events space, plus a new leisure club with swimming pools, hot tubs and four gym studios. The hotel, resort and golf facilities remain open throughout the project, which is expected to be completed in September.

NEW: Hotel Gotham, Newcastle, Tyne and Wear

October 2025

Gotham Group's £11.5m project will transform the former Newcastle Fire Station into a five-star hotel – featuring 60 elegant rooms, destination dining and a private bar for members, guests and VIPs. Expect opulent interior design, slick service and decadent cocktails: all of which are hallmarks of this glamorous, upmarket brand, which first opened in Manchester in 2015. 

NEW: Crafted at Powdermills, Battle, East Sussex

October 2025

Crafted by Powdermills, a hotel and club space set in 78 acres of private woodlands just outside Battle, will open this October. The estate will feature 55 rooms and suites set around a large lake, alongside an onsite pub and restaurant serving seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. Guests can enjoy outdoor-focused wellness experiences such as paddleboarding, forest yoga and lakefront sauna sessions.

NEW: Soho House Manchester, Greater Manchester 

October 2025

Soho House is set to open its first property in the north of England, encompassing the upper three floors of Manchester's former Granada Studios – located in the up-and-coming St John's neighbourhood. The building, which is also home to Aviva Studios, is one of Manchester's most iconic locations. As well as 23 deluxe rooms and suites, there will be a rooftop pool, workspaces that transform into a club after dark, dining rooms and lounges – all with Soho House's signature creative flair.

-ends-

Notes to editors:

• VisitEngland's comprehensive What's New in England 2025 overview can be downloaded here
• Registration to the VisitBritain asset library is required to download images. Register here.

For more detail please visit www.visitengland.com/media-centre / www.visitengland.com