Discover England's Heritage this week for free

The Look and Sea Centre in Littlehampton are holding a number of open days. Picture: Liz Pearce

Running from Thursday September 8 to Sunday September 11, thousands of events are being held across the country to invite people to explore local treasures of every age, style and function.

With more than 40,000 volunteers, it is England’s biggest festival of history and culture and can be found right on your doorstep.

Here are just a few of the open days on offer this week:

Shoreham RNLI Lifeboat Station celebrates over 150 years of saving lives at sea and over the four days you can take a lifeboat station tour at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in Brighton, where you will be shown around by one of the station’s visit guides. Tours run between 11-12.30pm from Thursday to Saturday and between 2-3.30pm on Sunday. Pre-booking is required.

Discover Littlehampton Museum and work going on behind the scenes at the Look & Sea Centre on Surrey Street this Friday between 11-12pm, in a heritage talk. No booking is required.

People may wish to take a guided tour of St Nicholas church in Old Shoreham and see its architectural and historical features on Saturday between 10-4pm. No booking is required.

Indulge in Arundel’s Church of St Mary Magdalene on Ford Road in Tortington on Saturday between 9-4pm, where you will enter a medieval fantasy setting, with three rows of Norman carvings arch over a thick wooden door set with ornamental hinge straps. No booking is required.

Or if people have memories or stories of Shoreham beach to tell, a oral history recorder will be on hand at Shoreham Fort over the weekend between 11-4pm. No booking is required.

Heritage Open Days was established in 1994 and are held annually in September.