Why we love to go behind the scenes at European Heritage Open Days

Sometimes you find yourself wondering whether people in Northern Ireland give a hoot about their built heritage.

The place is packed with fascinating little bits and pieces of old walls and structure dating back centuries, but your heart sinks every time an intriguing bit of the landscape is lost forever to the demolition squad, apparently with few people even noticing.

That’s why the European Heritage Open Days always cheer me up every September.

For one weekend every year, hundreds of buildings and structures of heritage interest across Northern Ireland throw open their doors to the public for free - and the people respond in their hordes.

The event has gradually evolved from straightforward open doors to tours and talks - and these days you’d be as likely to find yourself at a craft market or a movie showing, as the organisers have come up with ever more inventive ways of engaging Northern Ireland’s people with their built heritage.

This year, you could have taken part in a children’s puzzle challenge at Belfast City Hall, discovered how Belfast rallied to aid the 100,000 families made homeless by the Belfast Blitz at Northern Ireland War Memorial, gone on a fossil treasure hunt at Marble Arch Caves or enjoyed a screening of The Frankenstein Chronicles at Campbell College - where the movie was filmed.

I’ve been making a point of going to EHOD for about 15 years now and I don’t think I’ve missed many years.

I’ve visited a signal box in Belcoo, now in the garden of a family home; enjoyed seed cake in a traditional thatched cottage in Fermanagh; and relaxed with a cup of tea in the beautiful sunken garden at Colebrooke House.

EHOD has taken me to Helen’s Tower in Clandeboye Estate - several times - and architect Richard Pierce’s stunning rath-inspired home in Fermanagh, as well as Heather House, the intriguing thatched gatehouse on the Belmore Estate that fascinates anyone travelling along the main road to Enniskillen.

It’s been a fantastic experience getting to see the interiors of some of these fascinating buildings that are often tucked away behind locked gates and dense rhododendron.

I’ve even been unexpectedly plied with alcohol at a couple of my visits. One notoriously teetotal hostess offered me a drink at her Saturday afternoon house-opening and I found myself downing a head-spinningly strong vodka and coke that was around 80% vodka and 20% coke. The host at the next house that afternoon offered us a taste of his special edition Cointreau and it seemed impolite to refuse. The evening was a bit of a non-event after that.

But my favourite visits have always been the ones where I got to bring my daughter along to show her some of the infinite richness of Northern Ireland’s built heritage.

When she was two, I took her for a tour of Stranmillis College by the very patient historian Eamon Phoenix.

At three, she took a great liking to the antique rocking horse at Ballywalter House and enjoyed exploring the little bridges in the gardens. The next day, I took her to a fantastic open day at Belfast’s Grand Opera House where we got to explore the boxes and operate the big spotlight on the stage, as well as enjoying face painting and a Jumping Clay workshop.

Last year, it was all about towers as we scaled Scrabo Tower and then descended deep into the quarry below; followed by an afternoon getting hopelessly lost in Clandeboye’s woods as we tried to find the way back from Helen’s Tower.

She remembers every single visit. And thankfully this time I discovered it was EHOD weekend just in the nick of time and we got to spend a fascinating couple of hours travelling by steam train on the Downpatrick and Co Down Railway to Inch Abbey where a pair of eerie monks were spotted wandering the ancient ruins.

The brilliant thing is that every single year I find myself kicking myself for not getting out earlier in the day because every single place I’ve been has been absolutely swarming with fascinated visitors.

If they ever decide to discontinue EHOD, I wouldn’t like to be the Stormont minister who has to explain why to that army of secret heritage fans.