Checked August 2026: the cathedral is free to enter, Mappa Mundi £7.50, the Old House £4 and Queenswood free to walk. What is open, what it costs and what is shut.
Hereford’s best-known thing is a map, it is 700 years old, and seeing it costs £7.50. The cathedral it lives in is free to walk into. Between those two facts sit a Jacobean house you can climb around for £4, a Victorian pumping station that still runs on steam, and 68 hectares of arboretum on a hill north of the city where the walking is free and only the car park charges.
One thing to know before you plan a day here: Hereford Museum and Art Gallery on Broad Street is closed, and will be for years yet. Everything else below was checked against the venue’s own website in August 2026, and where a price could not be confirmed we have said so rather than guessed.
Hereford Cathedral: free to enter, £7.50 for the map
The cathedral is open Monday to Saturday 7.30am to 5pm and Sunday 12.30pm to 3pm, and there is no admission charge to go in and look at it. On Sundays the museum, shop and café are closed.
The Mappa Mundi and Chained Library Museum is the ticketed part, and it is the reason people travel here. The Mappa Mundi is a single sheet of vellum measuring 64 by 52 inches, drawn around 1300 with Jerusalem at the centre of the world and roughly 500 drawings across it, including about 420 cities and towns, 33 plants and animals and eight scenes from classical mythology. It is shown alongside the Chained Library’s 229 illuminated manuscripts and over 1,200 early printed books.
- Adult £7.50, or £8.50 with Gift Aid
- Students £6
- Children aged 8 to 16 £2, under-8s free
- Open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm, last admission 4.30pm. Closed Sundays, Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
- Tickets can be bought up to four weeks ahead or at the entry desk on the day, and there are no timed slots, so you can go in whenever you like on the day of your ticket.
Two dates to plan around. Timed tickets apply for the Medieval Hereford Festival weekend on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 August 2026, when the museum expects far more visitors than usual. And the museum is closed all day on Monday 14 and Tuesday 15 September, opening later than usual, at noon, on Friday 18 September.
The tower tour is the other paid experience: 218 steps up to the Lantern Gallery, the Ringing Chamber and a set of panoramic interpretation boards at the top, with a certificate for anyone who makes it. Adults £10, students £8, children 8 to 16 £5, and the cathedral recommends it only for children of 8 and over. Tours run at 11.30am and 1.30pm on selected Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and are cancelled in poor weather, so ring 01432 374 202 before you travel.
Dogs are welcome in the cathedral itself but not in the museum, the café’s inside seating or the cloisters.
The Old House: £4, 1621, and free for under-16s
The Old House stands on its own in the middle of High Town, HR1 2AA, and is the best-value hour in the city. It was built in 1621 as a butcher’s shop and dwelling, spent the 1920s as a branch of Lloyds Bank, and has been a museum since 1929. Inside are re-created Jacobean rooms with original 17th-century furniture, replica clothing you are allowed to try on and a period bed you are allowed to test.
- Over-16s £4, concessions £3.50, under-16s and students free
- Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday 11am to 4pm, bank holidays 12pm to 3pm
- Ground floor is wheelchair accessible with level access, and there is a virtual tour and tactile displays for the upper floors
Hereford Museum and Art Gallery is shut, and the reason is expensive
The council’s own museum on Broad Street, HR4 9AU, is closed for a major redevelopment. Entry is free when it is open. It is not opening soon.
In June 2026 the council published an update that explains why. The project’s original budget was £20.5 million. Additional costs of up to around £14.5 million were identified, against revised funding of £20.8 million made up of £8.4 million from the council, £5 million from the Stronger Towns Fund and £5 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The expected total is now in the region of £24.4 million, the scheme is being redesigned to fit what can be paid for, and construction is expected to start in summer 2027. The council cited structural issues in the Grade II-listed building, construction cost inflation and rising delivery costs.
The Shirehall project alongside it, with an £8.5 million budget including £2.6 million from the Stronger Towns Fund, is on the same timetable: construction from summer 2027, with the library moving from the Assembly Room to Court Room Two.
While the museum is shut, the council’s History Store gives access to the collections, and the Old House stays open as normal.
The Waterworks Museum: steam, and the difference a Sunday makes
The Waterworks Museum at Broomy Hill, HR4 0LJ, is a Victorian pumping station with more than 50 machines, a working triple expansion steam engine, a replica wartime kitchen and evacuee’s bedroom, and a water park where children can pump, filter and squirt water. It is under a mile from the city centre on foot or by bike, along the Wye Valley Walk.
The pricing has two tiers, and it is worth understanding which day you are going.
| Visitor | Tuesdays (museum and café open) | Selected Sundays (machines operating) |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | £8.00 | £12.00 |
| Student, 16 and over | £4.00 | £6.00 |
| Children under 16 | Free | Free |
| Members, and a carer with a disabled visitor | Free | Free |
It opens Tuesdays 11am to 4pm all year, plus around ten selected Sundays through spring, summer and autumn when the pumps are actually running on steam. The museum’s own advice is to check before travelling, because it is a listed Victorian building run by volunteers and not every exhibit works every day. Dogs on short leads are allowed in the grounds and building, but not in the water park or the café serving area.
Queenswood: free to walk, and the car park is the catch
Queenswood Country Park and Arboretum, on the ridge at Dinmore Hill north of the city, is run by Herefordshire Wildlife Trust. It covers 68 hectares, entry is free, and it has a visitor centre, a woodland café, a gift shop, waymarked trails and bike racks, though cycling on site is not allowed.
Parking is what you pay for, and it is pay before you leave, or within 48 hours online:
- Up to 1 hour £2.70; 1 to 2 hours £3.70; 2 to 3 hours £5.20; 3 to 10 hours £6.20; over 10 hours and overnight £12
- Annual permit £65, covering both Queenswood and Bodenham Lake Nature Reserve
- Motorcycles park free in the designated bay
- Coaches and minibuses staying over 15 minutes £12, reduced to £6 if you tell them you are coming in advance
The Courtyard, and what August looks like
The Courtyard on Edgar Street, HR4 9JR, is Herefordshire’s arts centre: theatre, cinema, live music and family shows. Its listings run from touring theatre to IMAX-format film.
Two practical notes for this summer. It is running The Amp, a pop-up summer venue on its site through August 2026, with a programme that has included James Morrison and The Shires. And because The Amp is occupying the site, the Courtyard car park is closed until 4 September 2026. Ticket prices vary by show, so check the listing or ring the box office on 01432 340555.
The smaller museums, and their very particular hours
Herefordshire’s independent museums are mostly volunteer-run, which means short opening hours and a real risk of a wasted journey if you do not check first. These are the council’s own listings.
- St John Medieval Museum, Chapel and Coningsby Hospital, Widemarsh Street, HR4 2NP. Open April to October, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, 11am to 12.30pm and 1pm to 2.20pm. 01432 274903.
- The Museum of Cider, 21 Ryelands Street, HR4 0LW, 01432 354207. Its own website was behind a security check when we tried to read it in August 2026, so we cannot confirm its current prices or hours here. Ring before you go.
- The Violette Szabo GC Museum, Cartref, Tump Lane, Wormelow, HR2 8HN. Open April to October on Wednesdays only, 11am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm, or by appointment. Phone 01981 540477 to check it is open before setting out.
- Hereford Light Infantry Museum, Harold Street, HR1 2QX. By appointment only, 01432 870420.
- Belmont Abbey, HR2 9RZ, 01432 374747, and The Weir at Swainshill, HR4 7QF, a National Trust garden on the Wye. Check their own sites for opening.
Getting about
Beryl hire bikes have bays across the city, including the railway station, Old Market and the Cathedral, and Hereford has more than twenty miles of traffic-free path. A pedal bike is £1 to unlock plus 5p a minute, an e-bike £1.50 and 12p a minute, and an all-day pedal-bike pass is £12.
If you drive in, the first 30 minutes is free in every council car park, and Merton Meadow is £5.50 for the whole day against £17 at Gaol Street or Maylord Orchards. The full tariff list is on our roadworks, parking and travel page.
Common questions
What is there to do in Hereford for free?
Walk into Hereford Cathedral (Monday to Saturday 7.30am to 5pm, Sunday 12.30pm to 3pm), walk in Queenswood Country Park (free entry, you pay only to park), and walk the Wye Valley Walk along the river. Under-16s get in free at the Old House and the Waterworks Museum, and Hereford Museum and Art Gallery is free when it reopens.
How much is the Mappa Mundi in Hereford?
£7.50 for an adult, or £8.50 with Gift Aid, £6 for students, £2 for children aged 8 to 16 and free for under-8s. That ticket covers both the Mappa Mundi and the Chained Library Museum, open Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm with last admission at 4.30pm.
Can you go up Hereford Cathedral tower?
Yes. Tower tours climb 218 steps to the Lantern Gallery and Ringing Chamber and run at 11.30am and 1.30pm on selected Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Adults £10, students £8, children 8 to 16 £5. Ring 01432 374 202 to confirm a tour is running, since poor weather cancels them.
Is Hereford Museum and Art Gallery open?
No. It is closed for a redevelopment now expected to cost in the region of £24.4 million, with construction due to start in summer 2027. The Old House in High Town remains open, and the council’s History Store gives access to the collections.
What is there to do in Hereford when it rains?
The Mappa Mundi and Chained Library Museum (£7.50), the Old House (£4), the Waterworks Museum on a Tuesday (£8, under-16s free) and The Courtyard for a film or a show. The cathedral itself is free and dry.
Is parking free at Queenswood?
No. Entry to the park is free but the car park charges from £2.70 for up to an hour to £6.20 for three to ten hours, with an annual permit at £65 that also covers Bodenham Lake. Motorcycles park free.
Related
- Hereford roadworks, parking and travel: where to park, what it costs, and which car park is closed.
- Hereford to London trains: getting here without a car.
- Hereford house prices: what homes cost across the county.
- Hereford planning: the museum redevelopment and the rest of the city’s building programme.
Sources
- Hereford Cathedral, Mappa Mundi and Chained Library Museum for admission prices, opening hours, the September closures and the Medieval Hereford Festival timed tickets; opening times for the cathedral’s own hours and the dog policy; tower tours for the 218 steps and the tour prices; and Mappa Mundi for the map’s dimensions, date and contents.
- Herefordshire Council, The Old House Hereford for the entry prices, opening hours, history and accessibility.
- Herefordshire Council, Hereford Museum and Art Gallery for the closure, and Update on Shirehall and HMAG projects, June 2026, for the costs, funding and summer 2027 construction date.
- Waterworks Museum, times and prices and visit us for the two-tier admission, opening days, location and dog policy.
- Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, Queenswood car park for every parking charge and the annual permit, and Queenswood Country Park and Arboretum for the free entry, the 68 hectares and the facilities.
- The Courtyard for The Amp, the programme and the car park closure to 4 September 2026.
- Herefordshire Council, independent museums in Herefordshire for the addresses, phone numbers and opening arrangements of the smaller museums.
- Beryl, bike hire in Hereford for the hire prices.
Prices and opening times change, and the small volunteer-run museums here change them at short notice. Ring before you travel.
Have your say
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