Heritage sites are getting ready to open their doors as people discover the impressive buildings and cultural heritage of the Isle of Wight, as part of the national Heritage Open Days.

The free event, which is England's largest heritage festival, will be held from Friday 10 September until Sunday 19 September. To celebrate the event, the Isle of Wight Council's heritage service will be offering free admission to two of its popular sites — Newport Roman Villa and the Museum of Island History. The Museum of Island History is situated within the historic Guildhall on Newport High Street.

The museum provides an introduction to the history of the Isle of Wight and its current temporary exhibition is ‘A Tale of Two Shipwrecks’ which explores the tales of the wreck of the Pomone off the Needles, and the Yarmouth Roads wreck.

Corina Westwood, curator of human history, said: "Our next temporary exhibition will focus around the history of Newport, its shops and markets. "To help us prepare for this, we will be asking visitors on the day for memories of Newport past which we can share in this exhibition. The Newport exhibition will open in December 2021.

"Come and meet museum staff who will be introducing the highlights of the museum; and bring along any archaeological finds to be identified by the Finds Liaison Officer."

To help keep people safe on these special days, the sites will have a one-way system in operation, masks and social distancing will be encouraged, a QR code will be available for visitors to log their visit and numbers will be limited at busy times.