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heritage · Saturday 15 August 2026 · Various 
National Heritage Week 2026 - County Antrim Events
At Various sites across County Antrim · Various, Co. Antrim
At Various sites across County Antrim · Various, Co. Antrim
Nine days of free events across County Antrim, opening on 15 August 2026, make National Heritage Week one of the most accessible ways to dig into a corner of Ireland that often surprises visitors. The 2026 theme is “Heritage at Risk” - a prompt to look carefully at historic buildings, archaeological sites, landscapes and living traditions that are under pressure, and to think about what it takes to keep them alive. The programme draws in community groups, local councils, historical societies and museums, so what you get is rarely a glossy set piece; it tends to be a local expert unlocking a door that is usually closed, or walking you down a street with a story behind every building.
The full County Antrim programme is published on heritageweek.ie in the weeks before the festival opens, so the specific events are not confirmed this far ahead. Based on how the week has run in previous years across the county and in Belfast, you can expect a mix of guided walks through historic streets, open days at buildings that are normally off-limits, archaeology talks, living history demonstrations and craft workshops. Saturday 15 August is Heritage Open Doors day - sites from medieval churches to Victorian industrial buildings throw open their doors, often with expert guides on hand.
Belfast tends to offer particularly rich pickings: the city’s layered history - Norman settlement, plantation-era development, Victorian industrial expansion, and the twentieth century - gives local historians a lot to work with. Groups such as the Ulster Archaeological Society and local civic trusts regularly contribute events, alongside the city’s museums and community heritage projects.
The “Heritage at Risk” theme means some events will focus specifically on threatened places - a building fighting planning pressures, a craft skill with very few remaining practitioners, a stretch of coastline being reshaped by erosion. These tend to make for memorable, thoughtful events rather than standard tourist-trail fare.
Most Heritage Week events in Belfast and the wider county are reachable by public transport. Translink operates bus and rail services throughout Co. Antrim; Belfast Grand Central Station is the main hub for rail, connecting to towns across the county. Metro bus services cover the city itself in detail. For events outside the city, check Translink’s journey planner at translink.co.uk before you go, as frequency on rural routes can be limited.
If you are driving, Belfast is well signed from the M1 and M2 motorways. City-centre parking is available at several multi-storey car parks; Park and Ride options at the edge of the city are worth considering during busy periods.
Heritage Week falls during a mild stretch of August that is well suited to walking the city properly - the Cathedral Quarter, the waterfront, the Titanic Quarter and the old Linen Quarter all repay slow exploration. There is more to see in Belfast and across Co. Antrim.
Heading to Various sites across County Antrim in Belfast? Antrim has plenty more to see. Read the Belfast area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.