National Lottery Open Week is back for its 2026 edition with hundreds of venues and attractions confirmed across the UK, giving everyone a chance to visit iconic National Trust sites, museums, and castles for as little as 25 pence each, if one knows how to play.
With inflation and rising living costs, an outing to a cultural site can quickly become significantly expensive, especially if the said outing is done en famille.
The National Lottery offers temporary relief for one week, from 7 to 15 March, when a lottery ticket becomes a kind of “open buffet” that grants entry to many free or discounted experiences across the UK. Some venues will also be providing extras such as complimentary hot drinks or cakes, reduced prices in cafés or gift shops, and half-price tours, workshops, lectures, and performances.
The principle is simple: buy a ticket from any National Lottery game – from traditional Lotto tickets to scratch cards and Instant Win Games – to unlock access. The cheapest of these costs just 25p and can be purchased online or via the free National Lottery app.
Darren Henley, chief executive of Arts Council England and chair of the National Lottery Forum, describes the week as a passport to discovery, unlocking joy, opportunity, and possibility in communities across the UK.”
Participating venues include historic houses, castles, museums, nature reserves, wildlife parks, sporting venues, art galleries, theatres, and cinemas. Sports enthusiasts are catered for too, with some gyms and sports centres offering free workout sessions.
The Eden Project in Cornwall is top of the list. It is famous for its vast gardens, which are housed inside spectacular giant biomes that recreate rainforest and Mediterranean environments within a former quarry. The site spans an area comparable to around 30 football pitches, and adult tickets usually cost around £42 (approximately €49).
Other highlights include Culzean Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland, dramatically perched on cliffs overlooking the Firth of Clyde; Edinburgh Zoo; and the historic warship HMS Belfast in London.
The confirmed attractions list also includes Fountains Abbey, Kingston Lacy, Quarry Bank, Stourhead, and Anglesey Abbey, which are frequently highlighted as being among the most popular participating sites. Visitors can enjoy tours of BBC Studios at Alexandra Palace in London and active experiences such as sessions at the Halifax Wheelchair Rugby League Club and activities at the Sport Wales National Centre.
The Tower of London will offer half-price entry to ticket holders during the promotion. The same applies to visits to the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland – a UNESCO-listed natural site famed for its roughly 40,000 interlocking basalt columns formed by ancient volcanic activity along the Antrim coast.
Henley has described National Lottery Open Week as “a chance to get outside and explore the UK’s rich history, stunning landscapes, and vibrant culture through free and low-cost days out,” and has explained that the initiative is also a way of thanking loyal players who, each week, raise £32 million “for good causes, supporting vital projects in arts, sports, heritage, and communities nationwide.”
This marks the ninth edition of the programme. The full list of participating attractions is available online and is updated regularly.
A word of advice: as venues can become particularly busy during the promotion, visitors are encouraged to book ahead where possible or consider visiting during quieter hours. Please note that this year, the final day of the programme coincides with Mother’s Day, and some venues have chosen to exclude this date from the offer.
