Things to Do in Harrow: 11 Days Out, Prices Checked

Harrow’s days out are better than its reputation suggests: a moated 14th-century manor house you can visit for free, one of only two museums in the country devoted to a single cartoonist, a Battle of Britain landscape grazed by cattle, and afternoon tea in W.S. Gilbert’s old dining room. Every venue below was checked against its own website for this page, so the hours and prices are what actually apply, and each is linked so you can confirm before you set off.

Harrow and the Hill

Headstone Manor & Museum is the borough’s museum and its best free day out: a moated manor house dating to the 14th century, with a visitor centre, exhibitions and the Moat Cafe in the grounds. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm (last entry 30 minutes before closing), closed Mondays, and entry is free, with talks, tours and family activities through the year.

St Mary’s Church, Harrow on the Hill has crowned the Hill since it was consecrated in 1094, and its spire is the borough’s landmark for miles around; the churchyard viewpoint over the London plain is the classic Harrow walk. It is a working parish church rather than a visitor attraction: Sunday services run at 8am and 10.30am, with occasional heritage open events (the next listed for 19 September 2026), so time a visit around those rather than expecting daily opening.

The Old Speech Room Gallery at Harrow School, in an 1820 schoolroom on the High Street, holds the school’s antiquities and fine art, including material connected to Byron. It opens to the public only on advertised term-time afternoons, 2.30pm to 5pm, and closes for school business at short notice, so call 0208 872 8205 before planning a visit; the school does not run general public tours.

Vue Harrow in the town centre is the borough’s cinema, fitted out to Vue’s premium “Lux” recliner format, with tickets priced per film and time on the site. For what homes near all this cost, our house prices page has the numbers.

Pinner and Hatch End

Pinner Memorial Park is the borough’s prettiest small park, a Green Flag holder near Pinner centre with a duck pond, a small aviary, the ornamental Peace Garden, a bowling green and a playground. Free and open daily, and unusually for a London park it contains a museum:

The Heath Robinson Museum, in the park at 50 West End Lane, celebrates the cartoonist whose name became the English phrase for absurd contraptions. Open Thursday to Sunday and bank holiday Mondays, 11am to 4pm; adults £8, children aged 5 to 15 £2, concessions £4, under-5s and carers free, free with a National Art Pass. It is under ten minutes’ walk from Pinner station on the Metropolitan line. Next door in West House, Daisy’s in the Park serves the park daily, 8am to 6pm.

Harrow Arts Centre on Uxbridge Road, Hatch End, is the borough’s stage: touring music, comedy and family shows (this season runs from Motown tributes to a Sleeping Beauty pantomime through to 29 December 2026), with a bar and cafe; tickets per show from the box office on 020 3773 7161.

Stanmore and the green north

Bentley Priory open space, north of Uxbridge Road in Stanmore, is the wildest corner of the borough: a Site of Special Scientific Interest of meadows, woodland and two ponds, grazed by cattle in summer, with a private deer park of around two dozen fallow deer alongside. There is no car park at the site itself; use the Warren Lane car park at Stanmore Common, five minutes’ walk away. The RAF’s Battle of Britain headquarters stood in the priory itself, and its museum sits in the mansion; opening days could not be confirmed for this page, so check bentleypriorymuseum.org.uk directly before travelling.

Stanmore Country Park adds woodland and meadow with entrances on Dennis Lane, Kerry Avenue and Wood Lane, free at all times. The council counts 80 green spaces across the borough, covering more than a fifth of Harrow, so these two are the headliners of a much longer list.

Grim’s Dyke Hotel in Harrow Weald is the borough’s grandest afternoon out: the former home of W.S. Gilbert, of Gilbert and Sullivan, with gardens, woodland grounds and a kitchen garden. Afternoon tea is served 12.30pm to 4pm and booking is essential (0208 385 3100); Sunday lunch and dinner run alongside, and parking is free.

Wealdstone

Harrow Leisure Centre on Christchurch Avenue is the borough’s big indoor venue, run by Everyone Active: three gyms with 180 stations fresh from a £1.4 million refurbishment (including a ladies-only gym), two swimming pools, a nine-metre climbing wall and a full class programme. Open 6am to 10pm weekdays and 6.30am to 8pm weekends, priced per session or membership.

What a day out costs

The pattern is unusually kind to families: the flagship museum is free, the parks and commons are free, and the one fixed admission charge on this list is the Heath Robinson Museum’s £8. Getting to all of it without a car is easy too; our trains page covers the lines, and roadworks and parking covers driving.

Frequently asked questions

What is there to do in Harrow for free?

Headstone Manor & Museum (Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm), Pinner Memorial Park, Bentley Priory open space and Stanmore Country Park all cost nothing, and St Mary’s churchyard viewpoint on Harrow Hill is free at any time.

Is Headstone Manor worth visiting?

It is the borough’s best free day out: a genuinely moated manor house with a museum of Harrow’s history, a visitor centre and a cafe, open Tuesday to Sunday. Families can easily fill a half day between the site and the surrounding recreation ground.

Can you visit Harrow School?

Not on general public tours; the school does not advertise any. The Old Speech Room Gallery opens on advertised term-time afternoons (2.30pm to 5pm), and the school asks visitors to call 0208 872 8205 to check dates before travelling.

Is the Bentley Priory Museum open?

The Battle of Britain museum in Stanmore’s Bentley Priory mansion could not be verified for this page, so check bentleypriorymuseum.org.uk for current open days and prices before making the trip. The surrounding council-run open space is free and always open.

Where can kids burn off energy in Harrow?

Harrow Leisure Centre in Wealdstone has two pools and a nine-metre climbing wall (Everyone Active, from 6am weekdays), Pinner Memorial Park has a playground and the aviary, and the borough’s 80 green spaces cover more than a fifth of its area.

What is on at Harrow Arts Centre?

Touring music, comedy and family theatre at 171 Uxbridge Road, Hatch End, with this season’s pantomime, Sleeping Beauty, running to 29 December 2026. The box office is 020 3773 7161 or harrowarts.com.

Sources

• Headstone Manor & Museum: visit (hours, free entry)
• Heath Robinson Museum: plan your visit (hours, prices)
• Harrow Council: Pinner Memorial Park and commons, greens and open spaces (park facilities, Bentley Priory open space, Stanmore Country Park, the 80-space count)
• St Mary’s, Harrow on the Hill (services, heritage events)
• Harrow School: Old Speech Room Gallery (public opening arrangements)
• Harrow Arts Centre (programme, box office)
• Daisy’s in the Park (cafe hours)
• Grim’s Dyke Hotel: dining (afternoon tea times, booking)
• Vue Harrow (cinema)
• Everyone Active: Harrow Leisure Centre (hours, facilities)

Hours and prices were checked against each venue’s own website on 8 August 2026 and change seasonally; confirm with the venue before a special trip.