When I lived in London one of the coolest things were the Open House days when the great buildings of the city, erected and decorated during the heydays of Empire, were opened to the public. So it's nice to see the idea has been taken and replicated across the country with Heritage Open Days between 6-9 September. Here's the big list for Birmingham:

• A Kings Norton Trail
• Aston Manor Transport Museum
• Back to Backs
• Birmingham Cathedral
• Birmingham Tours Bull Ring Walk
• Birmingham Tours Canal Walk
• Blakesley Hall
• Bull Street Quaker Meeting House
• Civic Sculpture in the City Centre Walk
• Curzon Street Station
• Department of Art
• Guided Walk - Moseley Hall & Village
• Guided Walk - The Lost Farms of Harborne
• Handsworth Old Town Hall
• John Hardman & Co (est 1838) Stained Glass Manufacturers
• Key Hill Cemetery
• Museum Collections Centre
• Museum Collections Centre
• Museum of the Jewellery Quarter - Walking Tours
• New Hall Water Mill
• Newman Brothers' Coffin Fittings Factory
• Old Grammar School and The Saracen’s Head
• Pen Room Museum
• Selly Manor
• Singers Hill Synagogue
• Soho House Museum
• St Andrew's Church
• St Chad’s Cathedral Guided Tour
• St John’s and St Peter’s Church with Ladywood Arc
• St Nicolas’s Church
• St Paul's Church
• The Midlands International Buddhist Association (Birmingham Buddhist Maha Vihara)
• The Museum of the Jewellery Quarter
• Warwickshire Masonic Temple

Follow any of those links for details of when they're open. The news comes via the Birmingham Conversation Trust who are running the Newman Brothers and Curzon Street Station days.