Town Walk: Thornbury’s Man of Substance

This is a walk led by museum trustee and volunteer Meg Wise, as part of the 2026 Thornbury Arts Festival.

Book tickets for the walk through the Thornbury Arts Festival website here.

Starting from St Mary’s Church at 10am, this walk looks at the places associated with the life of Handel Cossham, who was a great benefactor to Thornbury.

Why did he give the Cossham Hall to the town and how did the Armstrong Hall come about?

The walk will include a visit to the renovated Cossham Hall.

Spaces are limited so please book early.

Price: £12, to include tea/coffee and cake.

A Railway-related, Museum-led Thornbury Wayfinders Walk

The Museum is delighted to be supporting Thornbury’s ‘Walkers are Welcome’ initiative.

As part of Thornbury Wayfinders’ Festival of Nine Walks over the weekend of 20th – 22nd February 2026, museum volunteers will be leading a Thornbury Railway-related walk, starting at Grovesend Roundabout, pictured above.

The walk is designated as ‘easy’ and will be about 3 miles.  Max: 20 people.

For more details and to book your ticket through Thornbury Wayfinders, go to:

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/thornbury-wayfinders

Max: 20 people

A Quilt-related Museum-led Thornbury Wayfinders Walk

The Museum is delighted to be supporting Thornbury’s ‘Walkers are Welcome’ initiative.

As part of Thornbury Wayfinders’ Festival of Nine Walks over the weekend of 20th – 22nd February 2026, museum volunteers will be leading a Thornbury Quilt-related walk, starting at the Town Hall where the Quilt is currently displayed and then gently exploring the town centre to identify locations of businesses embroidered on the 1900 Quilt.

For more details and to book your ticket through Thornbury Wayfinders, go to:

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/thornbury-wayfinders

Max: 20 people

Strike While the Iron is Hot!

TOWN WALK: “Strike While the Iron is Hot”

The Festival’s ever-popular Sunday morning Guided Town Walk returns and will reflect on times when many products were both made and sold in Thornbury.

Those joining leader and local historian Meg Wise, of Thornbury and District Museum, will discover where the goods were manufactured….

… brickworks, forges, mills and much more, with a pinch of gunpowder thrown in for good measure.

Allow two hours, to be followed by tea/coffee and cake.

Not suitable for wheelchairs. Only assistance dogs please.

To find out more and to book a place, please go to the Thornbury Arts Festival website.

Guided Walk: From Chapel Street to Pullins Green

To celebrate Local History Month, volunteers from the museum will be leading a guided walk on 29 May.

The title of the walk is “From Chapel Street to Pullins Green” and the museum volunteers will tell the stories of some of the ordinary people who lived in the back streets of the town.

The walk will start at the museum at 2 pm and will take 1 to 1½ hours.

Tickets for the walk cost £5 and can be obtained in person from the museum or via email: enquiries@thornburymuseum.org.uk

This is your chance to hear fascinating stories of past inhabitants and their home and working lives.  It will really bring the town alive for you!

Our Town, from Corn Market to Pye Corner

Come along to one of our historic town guided walks: “Our Town, from Corn Market to Pye Corner”.

Whether you’re new to the area or a long-established resident, you’re bound to discover something you didn’t know!

This walk covers the lower part of the High Street, once the site of the ancient street market, looking at the buildings and telling the stories of some of the people who have lived and worked there.

We assemble by the Millennium Sculpture at the side of the Town Hall for a 10.30am start and the walk will take about one and a half hours.

Numbers are limited and tickets, which cost £5, must be booked in advance.

Tickets can be obtained in person from the Museum, or via email.  The Museum is open on Tuesdays and Fridays 1-4pm and Saturdays 10am-4pm.

Thornbury and the Railway

The theme of this year’s national Heritage Open Days is “Routes, networks and connections”.

With this in mind, on Sunday 15 September Meg Wise will lead her popular “Thornbury and the Railway” walk, tracing the route of the old branch line from the edge of the town down to the end of the line and the site of the station.

Although the tracks and buildings are long gone, there are many clues and hidden evidence of the railway line to be found if you know where to look.

The walk will take about two hours, starting at 10am from the top of Midland Way by the roundabout at the junction with Grovesend Road and Morton Way. Parts of the walk are not suitable for wheelchairs and we also regret that only assistance dogs can be brought along.

There is no charge for this walk, as it is part of the Heritage Open Days programme, but advance booking is essential because numbers are limited.

Tickets can be obtained in person from the Museum, or via email.  The Museum is open on Tuesdays and Fridays 1-4pm and Saturdays 10am-4pm.

Guided Walk: “God, Gossip, Scandal & Riots”

Discover some of the lively, outrageous and shocking events in the town’s past!

Whether you’re new to the area or a resident of long-standing, you’re bound to discover lots you didn’t know about Thornbury’s history on this FREE guided walk, led by museum volunteers on this Heritage Weekend.

Numbers are limited, so please book early by emailing the museum or by ringing the museum on 01454 857774 or by calling in Tues to Fri from 1-4pm or Sat from 10am to 4pm.  Participants should be aged 16 and over.   The guided walk will begin at 2pm and finish at approx. 4.30pm.

The walk will start outside St Mary’s Church, Castle Street, Thornbury.

Heritage Weekend: Museum-led Walk – Town & Country

Join our Thornbury Heritage Trail walk Part 2 (you don’t have to have done Part 1 on Sun 9th September!).  It will start at The Plain, next to the NatWest Bank, venturing out to the edge of the town past St Mary’s Church and Thornbury Castle and across fields, returning to the town centre.

This Heritage Trail walk is long (about two and a half hours) and so not suitable for very small children. As it goes across fields, it is unsuitable for wheelchairs.

Places are FREE but must be booked in advance by telephone, email, or in person: call 01454 857774, email enquiries@thornburymuseum.org.uk, or visit during Museum opening times on Tuesday to Friday 1pm – 4pm and Saturday 10am- 4pm.

Please note: The Museum will not be open on this Sunday.

Heritage Weekend: Museum-led walk – Thornbury Town Centre

Join a Thornbury Heritage Trail walk, Part 1  – which will start at the Town Hall and journey around the town centre looking at significant buildings.

(The Heritage Trail Part 2 walk, next weekend, Sunday 16th September, will take a different route – come on one or both!)

The walk is long and therefore not suitable for very small children.  It is, however, manageable for wheelchairs.

Places are FREE but must be booked in advance by telephone, email, or in person: call 01454 857774, email enquiries@thornburymuseum.org.uk, or visit during Museum opening times on Tuesday to Friday 1pm – 4pm and Saturday 10am- 4pm.

Please note: The Museum will not be open on this Sunday.

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